With aid cuts and no new funds for 2026, opposition MPs on Tuesday issued a motion of no confidence (link in Estonian) in Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller (Reform).

In the view of the opposition parties: Center, Isamaa, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and the Social Democrats (SDE), confidence in Minister Joller has been lost for several reasons, among them a charge that she has shown neither interest nor initiative in resolving the chronic underfunding of women's support centers.

Funding for these centers has grown by only 7 percent since 2019, while prices have increased by nearly 50 percent, and funding has remained frozen — at a little over one million euros, since 2023. This money is distributed between 16 support centers nationwide, with at least one center in each of the 15 counties.

"EKRE finds it unacceptable that the minister lets women suffering from violence be left without help at a time when demand for the service is growing, and shelters are operating under constant overload and underfunding," EKRE chair Martin Helme said via a press release.

The heads of the women's support centers themselves point out that helping women fleeing violence has become more challenging than it was just a few years ago.

"Imagine going to buy groceries or looking for a rental apartment on a 2019 salary," head of the Pärnu women's support center Margo Orupõld told ERR.

Although the centers' doors remain open to all who need help, and basic crisis assistance is guaranteed, the lack of funds has begun to erode the overall substance of the services provided.

Eha Reitelmann, board member of the association of women's shelters, explained that it is legal counseling which has been hit the hardest, even though this is a crucial thing when it comes to custody and visitation disputes. Whereas five years ago support centers could provide legal representation in court in critical cases, that option has now gone.

"Nowadays, in many cases, we can offer legal services only for two or three hours, to outline the range of options to the woman," Reitelmann explained.
This means that in a complex and emotionally taxing court case, a victim of violence often has to cope on their own, as the support center simply does not have the funds to provide professional legal aid through the whole process.

The centers have also become less able to keep psychologists and psychotherapists on staff. Reitelmann cited by way of comparison those wage increases for state victim support specialists, such as they have been: While their gross salary has risen from €1,450 to €2,150 a month, funding for support centers has not kept pace with living costs.

Centers increasingly relying on donations, project funding

Orupõld noted that since state funding does not cover actual costs, the quality of services at the support centers depends ever more on project-based additional financing and donations. She inquired, critically, whether ensuring human rights and combating domestic violence issues in a state can really be functioning on the basis of donations.

Additionally, raising funds to counter domestic violence can be challenging. "People give easily to [charities concerned with] animals and children. Our area is only understood by true mission-minded individuals — perhaps someone in their family has experienced this, so they make a regular donation to us. That's how we get by," she explained.

The women's centers generally operate on the basis of a public procurement contract. For instance, in 2018, they received €770,000 per year from that source; the following year funding rose to a million euros. But since 2023, the volume of the public procurement has remained at a little over that: €1,074,000. The state says it is also budgeting for the same sum next year.

No cuts have been made at least. Kristiina Luht, head of victim support policy at the Ministry of Social Affairs, told ERR that this is exactly one area where nothing has been cut in the preceding years. "Funding for women's support centers has never been reduced; it has consistently risen, but as with other social sectors, more money is always needed," she said.

At the same time, no additional funds have been provided. But Luht nonetheless disagreed that access to services has deteriorated.

"I rely on what the support centers themselves have said. Financially there are issues, but they have not said that they will turn people away or that they will not provide help," Luht said. She noted that the number of people seeking help has also remained stable: Every year just under 2,000 people turn to women's shelters nationwide.

Harder for women fleeing domestic violence to obtain legal aid

The head of victim support policy did however acknowledge that support centers are unable to provide as much legal and psychological aid as is needed.

"Regarding legal aid, we have discussed that this area needs changes, as quite a few people have legal issues. We are considering how to resolve this — perhaps in cooperation with the justice and digital ministries," Luht said.

Reitelmann said that up to now, support centers have been able to direct clients with legal questions to the state-supported primary legal counseling scheme.

Primary legal counseling has been available to Estonian residents whose gross monthly income is up to €1,200, which is below the present-day national average; in this case, the person seeking help only had to pay €5 as a contribution. One exception was family matters involving children's rights, where the income threshold is €2,000. For that fee, one could receive two hours of legal counseling, and the next three hours at a reduced rate of about €50 per hour. In family law matters involving children's rights, up to 10 reduced-rate hours were available, and in those matters people could also apply for state-supported legal representation in court.

Support centers soon to use AI chatbot

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Digital Affairs plan to end primary legal counseling for low-income people next year and replace it with a legal-aid chatbot, powered by AI. This will be free to use.

Reitelmann is critical of this development, however. "People in vulnerable situations — victims of violence, the elderly, people with disabilities — will obviously be left without state support, because they cannot give form to their problems. Our employees can still provide primary assistance, but I cannot imagine that a chatbot would help our clients actually find a solution to their situation," she said.

Reitelmann added that because many women turn to support centers due to disputes involving children, she cannot imagine what will happen next year.

The Estonian chamber of people with disabilities also sent a critical letter to the two ministries on Monday this week, stating that they cannot support a complete transition to chatbot.

"Tech solutions can be additional options alongside existing ones, not replacements for existing services," wrote the chamber's executive director, Maarja Krais-Leosk. According to Reitelmann, the state-provided free legal aid offered by appointed lawyers would also not solve the problem if primary legal counseling is abolished.

"I have spoken with courts about this reform, and the courts say they have no capacity to expand such counseling. Often, people simply want an analysis of their situation and documents, but the courts tend to assist only with specific complaints," she added.

Reitelmann also identified a paradox: When a woman owns property, for example joint real estate, including with the abusive partner, applications for free legal aid often get rejected. In reality, however, the victim of violence is frequently unable to access that property if it is under the control of the abuser, leaving the woman both without property and without legal protection in one fell swoop.

Ministry to investigate better use of funds

Meanwhile, Luht said the social affairs ministry next year plans to review the cost model for the centers, to determine how much additional funding the sector actually needs.

"This means calculating what it will truly cost to provide these services. There is no point merely stating that the social sector has too little money — we know that. The question is what is optimal, specifically for this service," Luht said. Cooperation with local government will also be reviewed.

"For example, fewer women are seeking shelter, yet accommodation requires a considerable amount of resources once you think about electricity and heating costs. The need for this has fallen over the years," Luht said.

Luht explained that the social ministry will prepare the cost model, and then examine how the service can best be provided — and potentially also how to secure additional funding.

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