Five femicides in “24 hours of horror” – 2024-02-26 15:42:26

The police at Vienna is investigating the deaths of four women and a teenage girl in a 24-hour “horror”, according to reports.

Three women were stabbed to death by a man in a care home. A suspect was arrested.

A 51-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter were found dead in an apartment in the Erdberg area – about 12 kilometers (from where the other incident occurred. According to information, the girl’s father is suspected of strangulation.

Media outlets described the day as “Black Friday” and called for urgent action to end violence against women.

The bodies of three women were found in a building in the central Brigittenau district around 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT) after a witness called emergency services.

The suspect, described by police as a 27-year-old Afghan national, was found hiding near the brothel with a knife in his hand. The motive for the killing is currently unclear.

Austria: 4 women and a girl killed in Vienna in 24 hours. 3 women were stabbed to death by a military aged Muslim Afghani in Vienna on Friday. Another woman and a girl by a different Muslim.

Experts haven’t found a motive & continue searching for clues. pic.twitter.com/jddijmsDOR

— Data (@UltraDane) February 24, 2024

Eva-Maria Holzleitner, the head of the women’s policy department of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPO), urged the federal government to convene a crisis meeting to discuss the issue of femicide in the country.

Klaudia Frieben, head of the umbrella organization of the Austrian Women’s Ring (OFR), wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that “this day will go down in history as Black Friday with five dead women”.

According to the latest figures on femicide rates in Austria, published by the Institute for Conflict Research, around 319 women were murdered in the country between 2010 and 2020 – mostly by male partners or ex-partners.

The coalition government has pledged to crack down on the issue – committing almost €25 million in 2021 to initiatives aimed at protecting women from violence.