In addition to prevention, the police also have tasks in the “repressive area,” he said on Thursday after a violence protection summit in Vienna with representatives from the federal, state, authorities and violence and victim protection institutions. In addition, a sustainable violence protection strategy is being developed, it said.
As a result, all the players involved, such as women’s shelters, counseling centers, violence protection centers and police departments, should be networked even more closely with each other, emphasized Karner, Minister of Health John Rauch (Greens) and Minister for Women Susan Raab (ÖVP) unanimously in front of media representatives. As Raab said, this is about even stronger coordination and networking of all institutions and about “spanning a common roof over everyone”.
Little concrete
However, the trio left open specific details and a specific time frame. We deliberately don’t want to make any quick decisions here, explained Rauch. However, the path already taken should be “continued”. The support of Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens), who no longer took part in the press conference following the meeting, has already been promised.
Video: What the government plans to protect women
The strategy also wants to look at other countries. “What do other countries do better?” said Rauch. In addition, each individual case should be analyzed on a scientific basis, it said. According to him, the “evidence-based strategy” should extend to the states, districts and municipalities. Rauch emphasized that his ministry had already massively expanded the “StoP – Neighborhoods without Partner Violence” project in recent years. The Minister of Health also wants to involve doctors’ practices, “which are often the last point of contact for women as victims of violence”, more closely in raising awareness.
The recent femicides in particular have shown that each case must be viewed individually. Within 24 hours, a mother and her 13-year-old daughter were killed in Vienna-Landstrasse on Friday and three prostitutes in a brothel in Vienna-Brigittenau later in the evening. This Monday, the next case of an 84-year-old woman in the Lilienfeld district of Lower Austria became known, who is said to have been killed by her 93-year-old husband.
Analysis center in the Federal Criminal Police Office
Karner explained that as part of the criminal service reform, the current part-time coordinators for violence protection in the states should work full-time in the future. In addition, separate regional coordinators are to be created in the districts as well as a separate analysis center in the Federal Criminal Police Office. This is “already under construction,” said the minister. He also referred to the increase in the number of specialized police officers. Here we have reached a workforce of 1,200 prevention officers across Austria. After Karner’s “dramatic weekend” with three sex workers killed, he also “commissioned targeted campaigns in the red light area.”
Raab added that the “specialist advice centers for sex service providers” will be financially increased by 51 percent. This brings the amount to around 755,000 euros. “We want to strengthen the opportunity for women to move from the red light district to other areas and other jobs,” said the minister.
Prevention on the victim and perpetrator side
Marina Sorgo, who heads the umbrella organization of violence protection centers, expressly welcomed the creation of a sustainable concept on Thursday. “Violence prevention has to happen on both the victim and perpetrator sides,” she said. She also emphasized the relevance of case analyses. She called for conclusions to be drawn from this for prevention work. “Because we know that in most of the murders that have happened in recent years, the women did not seek help,” says Sorgo.
“A long overdue first step”
The SPÖ reacted positively to the plans. The announced Austria-wide coordination office is an “unfortunately overdue first step,” said the club’s deputy chairwoman and women’s spokesperson Daniela Holzleitner quoted in a statement. On Thursday she assured the government of the “full support of the SPÖ in parliament”. Holzleitner also emphasized that the SPÖ has long been developing a national strategy to protect against violence, as already existed under the former SP women’s minister Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek from 2014 to 2016. “That would be exactly what experts were apparently calling for today – a national strategy that obliges all ministries to take concrete measures.”
She also advocated ensuring the long-term integration of scientific experts. What is sobering, however, is that not all relevant organizations and stakeholders were brought to the table: “We need all the people and organizations that bear responsibility here to join forces.” It would therefore have been urgently necessary to also include the representatives from the federal states and the women’s group “in order to develop the best possible strategy to protect women from violence for the whole of Austria,” criticized Holzleitner. All players must be included in the upcoming planning. Holzleitner also called for the plans to be implemented as quickly as possible.
“Talking alone is not enough”
The Neos, on the other hand, were not very impressed by the results of the working discussion. “Talking alone is not enough,” criticized the responsible spokeswoman Henrike Brandstötter in a first statement. “If the federal government wants to make a difference in protection against violence, solutions must finally be on the table.” Your party has already provided these in the past, said Brandstötter. “However, our applications are always immediately thrown away by the ÖVP and the Greens.” She called on Raab to “finally carry out a comprehensive survey of all violence protection facilities and services and to check which facilities provide which services.” This is the only way to avoid duplication and at the same time identify gaps in care, she said.
