SafeSpace against violence: FAU student launches a safe café in Neumarkt

Johanna Mederer is studying law at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and is currently in the middle of her first State Examination. At the same time, she is involved in running a safe café for people threatened by violence. How did that come about? Johanna tells us.

The safe café in Neumarkt – tea, coffee and a safe haven

Law student Johanna Mederer goes to Café Immergrün in Neumarkt on a three-monthly basis, always on the first Tuesday in the quarter. This is where the safe café is held. The project is organized by Johanna and the other members of the society “SafeSpace Neumarkt”. The safe café is a safe place for anyone affected by violence – irrespective of their gender, age, or type of violence they have experienced.

“Violence is not one-dimensional”, Johanna explains. “While it is predominantly women and non-binary people who experience sexual or domestic violence, it can also affect men. As well as physical violence, a lot of people also suffer from psychological violence such as bullying, body shaming or stalking. We would like to provide a safe haven for everyone.”

Victims of violence can meet in the safe café to talk about their experiences, receive advice or simply enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in peace and quiet, lost in thought.

From the idea to reality

Johanna is one of the founding members and chair of the society. She explains that the initial idea for the café came from the advisory committee of young women in Neumarkt, that is part of the district administration office (Landratsamt). They had been toying with the idea for a project along these lines for a long time. When the founders heard that the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs was calling for applications for a “hackathon” where you could make a pitch for projects for funding, some women from the advisory committee came together, and that is precisely what they did. Everything happened very quickly: “We wrote a project pitch one morning, crossed our fingers and hoped that it would be successful.” And it was. The official project launch took place just one month after applying.

Thanks to the start-up funding from the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs, the safe café was able to open its doors in early 2022. It was clear from the outset that the safe café would be established at Café Immergrün, Johanna explains. The café is a very well known fair trade café in Neumarkt, run by an association that “organizes many social events and is the perfect social partner for the project,” Johanna explains. Today, the safe café is funded exclusively by donations.

Readily available advice by email, phone, social media or in the café

Anyone looking for help or just wanting to find out a little bit more about the safe café does not necessarily have to come to the café. The association can be reached at all times by phone, email or via social media. A psychologist supports the safe café and is always on hand to attend the meetings, if so requested.

For Johanna, it is important that everyone reaches out in the way that suits them best: It is absolutely okay for someone to come in to our café, drink a cup of tea and go again. Or to write an email and just ask what exactly we do. Or to arrange for a telephone call, and ask our psychologist to attend or bring other people. That is fine.”

“It makes you realize that somewhere like this has been missing in Neumarkt.”

The project gets a lot of positive feedback. People approach her and tell her that they would have needed somewhere like this earlier, Johanna explains. “It makes you realize that somewhere like this has been missing in Neumarkt.”

But is the work not a great strain? Johanna doesn’t agree: “We are not making it worse, we take a neutral or encouraging stance. Even if I hear stories that make me sad or pensive. At the end of the day, it is a good feeling that I as an individual person can still make a contribution. That people feel that they are seen.”

The association raises awareness with regular events, workshops in schools and presentations. In spite of all the positive experiences, Johanna reports that she is also sometimes confronted with more unpleasant situations.

What particularly annoys her are intrusive questions that have nothing to contribute to the topic. The women from the association are often asked, even in front of an audience, if they are taking action because they have experienced violence themselves. “That is unbelievably intrusive. We are all happy to volunteer and all have our own motivation for doing so, but no-one has to have experienced something before they are allowed to take a stance against it. I now just reply that being a poodle is not a prerequisite for working at a charity for poodles.”

Juggling studying for a law degree and volunteering

Johanna has been studying law at FAU since 2019 and is currently in the middle of her first State Examination. Her specialization: Criminology For Johanna, her degree program and her volunteering complement each other. “Providing consulting services and law are not opposites, society and criminal law are closely linked. If I have the opportunity, I could imagine completing my doctoral degree in this area. Otherwise, I am definitely planning to complete my practical legal training, the second State Examination and then to work in an area that is related to law but also valuable to society. Maybe criminal law, maybe social law, there are a lot of opportunities.”

The teamwork in the association allows Johanna to cope well with both studying and volunteering: “We have clearly designated tasks and if I have less time, for example if I have to prepare for my State Examination, then the others stand in for me. It also helps that my law degree at FAU is very flexible. “

I even have time for hobbies. Johanna is currently training for her next half marathon, she looks after her shared horse Muffin, who, although the name may suggest otherwise, has a height of 1.80m at the withers, she crochets, swims at university sport and has been persuaded to give canoe polo a try.

Johanna is obviously very busy! And that is the way she likes it best: “When it comes down to it, I am quite well organized and I like planning each minute of my day. I lot of people might think that sounds like stress, but I think it’s great. I get a lot of energy from all the things I do.”

How to reach the safe café

Website: https://schutzcafe-neumarkt.de/

Phone: + 49 931 99844697

Email: mailto:kontakt@schutzcafe-neumarkt.de

Instagram: schutzcafe_neumarkt

Facebook: Schutzcafé Neumarkt