International Women's Day: Ombudsman Achitz sees need for action on protection against violence

The Ombudsman Board was also consulted for the preparation of the GREVIO report. "The Austrian Ombudsman Board is Austria's national human rights institution, and as such cannot be reminded often enough of the right to physical integrity and to a life without violence," says Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz.

Too few shelters

The number of femicides in Austria remains high. Three quarters of femicides are committed by the victim's current or former partner. GREVIO sees it as positive that there are violence protection centres in all federal provinces, which also receive appropriate funding. However, it is criticised that there are too few shelters for victims of domestic violence. In Vienna, no woman is turned away, but in other provinces the situation is significantly worse, especially in rural areas, according to the GREVIO report. "The fact that women who want to flee a violent relationship to a women's shelter are only put on a waiting list is unreasonable and dangerous. The risk for these women and their children is enormous," says Achitz.

Women's shelters are not adequately equipped for women with disabilities

Women with disabilities find it particularly difficult to find a suitable place in a women's refuge. "Accessibility is a problem, and women's shelters are often not prepared for mental illnesses or addiction problems," says Achitz. The fact that women are exposed to an increased risk of violence if they have a disability or belong to a minority was also pointed out by the Ombudsman Board in 2023 in the opening event of the lecture series "One in Five". The Istanbul Convention calls for measures to be taken especially for women who are exposed to various forms of discrimination, such as women from national, ethnic and sexual minorities, migrants, asylum seekers/refugees, women with addiction problems and women with disabilities.

Hate online, violence: information measures and data collection necessary

The legislative package against online hate speech that came into force in 2021 is one of the measures that GREVIO expressly welcomes. "However, GREVIO also criticises the fact that very few complaints have been filed due to the complicated laws. A lot of training and information measures are still needed here," says Achitz. Also necessary: More and better data on violent offences: "For an evidence-based policy, we need better data on gender-based violence against women," says Achitz. While police data, for example, allows certain conclusions to be drawn about the offender-victim relationship, this is less possible with data from the justice system.