Vienna Investigation Office for Victims of Violence Took Stock

"The numbers underline the importance of the center," said Women's Minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner (SPÖ) at a press conference on Friday. In total, there have already been 400 "case-related engagements," reported UGB Director Katharina Stolz. "About 84 percent of those affected who come to us are female." 24 percent of the cases involved sexualized violence, in eight percent of the cases there was suspicion of date rape drugs. The overwhelming remaining part involved so-called domestic violence or violence in the social environment.

17 Percent of Violence Victims at Vienna Investigation Center are Minors

The victims were between one year and 92 years old. In 17 percent of the cases, the victims were minors, 69 percent of them female. Seven victims came to the investigation center multiple times due to different incidents. About a third of the victims come through referrals from medical personnel, another through investigative authorities and victim protection organizations, about a third on their own, said Stolz.

The investigations were conducted 51 percent at the investigation center itself. 49 percent took place in hospitals. About half of the cases involved injuries that do not need to be treated in a hospital. Here, there is often a particular risk that evidence of violence is not documented well enough to withstand court scrutiny. In 53 percent of the cases, charges were filed. Thanks to the UGB, victims are given a lot of time to consider: Evidence is kept for at least ten years, Stolz emphasized.

Four Government Members Emphasized Guarantee for Vienna Investigation Center for Victims of Violence

Perpetrators should not go unpunished because proceedings "often fail due to improper evidence collection," emphasized the Women's Minister. The first assessment of the pilot project funded by federal funds from four ministries at the Center for Forensic Medicine already shows after a few months how important such facilities are, said Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ). Despite budgetary pressures, the guarantee of existence is undisputed, emphasized the department heads and their party colleagues, Health and Social Minister Korinna Schumann and Health State Secretary Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig. Discussions are also underway to integrate the long-established Violence Protection Clinic in Innsbruck into the federal network with locations in Graz and now Vienna, as well as with the federal states of Salzburg and Upper Austria regarding the planned expansion to these regions, added Sporrer.

Also discussed was the new National Action Plan against Violence against Women (NAP) initiated by Holzleitner: Results will be presented by the end of the year. In this context, the electronic monitoring of "threats" will also be examined, such as with GPS bracelets for perpetrators and victims, as already used in Spain, to improve the effectiveness of restraining and no-contact orders, reported the Justice Minister.

"The violence clinics introduced in Vienna and Graz on the initiative of the Greens are a successful project in violence protection," responded Green Women's Spokesperson Meri Disoski. Now "urgent funds are needed for expansion and these are not visible in the budget," said Alma Zadić, Deputy Club Chairwoman and Justice Spokesperson of the Greens. "The violence clinic and its staff in Vienna also need long-term security."

(APA/Red)

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