[The Beverly Lewis House--report on development of a safe facility for mentally handicapped women with abuse histories].

This contribution introduces a battered women shelter in London, Great Britain which exclusively provides refuge to women with learning disabilities who experienced sexualized violence. In the case of sexual abuse in early childhood psychotherapy is provided. Beverly Lewis House is the only institution of its kind and is lead by the author of this article. The contribution gives an insight into the significance and the structures of such an institution. Six components will be described that are important for implementing a battered women shelter specified on serving women with a learning disability: the architecture and the structures of the institution, the funding, the team, the variety of offers, the establishment of a therapeutic climate and the further progress of the women after leaving the Beverly Lewis House. Furthermore, the staff are being instructed how to deal with behaviours resulting from abuse experiences such as eating disorders, self-harming behaviour and depressions. The contribution is predominantly written in "simple language" in order to make it accessible to people with learning disabilities.