Nearly one-third are immigrants. The Union of Shelter Homes as well as the municipalities maintain homes all over the country for female, male, adult, and child victims of violence. The total number of shelters is around 55. Many of the people served by the shelters are women with small children fleeing abusive husbands. Generally the conditions that cause both young and old to avail themselves of the shelters are alcohol-related.
Studies show that the opening of a shelter in an area brings cases of family violence into the open.
The concept of family violence includes negligence in care, psychological violence, and economic abuse. The Union of Shelter Homes introduced a special program to alert persons from other cultures to the possibilities of getting help from the authorities in a society where they lack a natural support network. A study published in 1998 indicated that the typical victim of family violence is a young woman between 18 and 24 years of age who is married or is living in a common-law relationship. The study concluded that every fifth married woman or woman involved in a common-law relationship has suffered from violent behavior at the hands of her partner. The study also concludes that as many as 40 percent of all women over the age of 15 have experienced some form of family violence.