Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre Vienna

Alexandra Weissenbacher

Facts and figure concerning violence against women and children

• According to estimates, one in five women in Austria faces violence committed by a close relative

• More than a half of the murders per year are committed in the family circle. The victims are mostly women and children

Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre General Information

• Established in 1997 as accompanying measure to the Austrian Protection from Violence Act

• Legally anchored victim protection organisation accompanying and supporting domestic violence victims

• Non-profit association• Honorary managment • Multiprofessional Team • Consultancy in eight different languages• Funding via the Austrian Federal Chancellery/Austrian Ministry for

Women and Social Services as well a by the Austrian Ministry of the Interior with the aim to accompany and support to the victims during the criminal proceedings led by the Autrian Ministry of Justice

The Intervention Centre´s principles

• Violence is absolutely unjustifiable• Victims of violence mustn´t be made responsible in any

way for this violence• The perpetrator carries the responsibility for the

violence committed• State and societal institutions are mutually responsible

for violence being stopped, punished and prevented• Victims of violence have a right for help and support in

order to lead a violence-free life• Victims have a right for being treated respectfully

The Vienna Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre´s target groups

• The main target group are the victims of domestic violence irrespective of age, sex, origin, religion or sexual orientation

• Children are always affected by violence as well and need protection

• Female Migrants: low language skills, dependent concerning residence permit and financial dependence

• Offenders: shall be hindered in comitting further violence through the implementation of perpetrator-related interventions

The Vienna Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre´s Operation Principles

• Partiality• Consultations for free• Confidentiality• Empowering the victims• Self-determination and respect for the victim´s

decision• Offenders taking over responsibility, ending the

violence• Proactive attitude

The Vienna Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre´s Activity

• Proactive contacting after a notice concerning a restraining order (via e-mail or Fax from the Police)

• Letter to the victim• Telephone counseling • Personal counseling• Legal and social work support• Threat assessment and security planning• Accompanying to civil and criminal courts • Perpetrator-related interventions• Cooperation and networking• Public relations and seminars

Perpetrator-related interventions

• All measures aiming at a perpetrator with the aim of stopping violence

• Victim protection has higher priority than working with the perpetrator

• No work with perpetrators without victim protection• Implementation of the perpetrator programs into the

intervention system• Adequate victim support• The type of perpetrator-related interventions depends upon the

perpetrator profile• Implement the measures as soon as possible, not only when

repeated violence occurs

Examples of perpetrator-related interventions

• Order to leave/ restraining order• Interim injunction• Preventive warning of right to the offender by

the police (specially trained officials)• Criminal law measures in case of a sentence:

orders, obligations• Training program for men´s counseling in

cooperation with the intervention authority

Comparison of the police report frequency from 2001 until 2011

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

1,045

1,469

1,698

1,924

2,467

2,917 2,9402,825

3,116 3,1093,303

Reports according to §38a SPG (WW/ BV)

Number of the assigned victims and those cared after 2011

Number

Female clients handed over via police reports 3.487

Female clients from other areas 472

Victims cared after since 2011 3.959

Female clients , who had been handed over by the police and who still were in or came again for counseling 1.615

2011 victims cared after TOTAL 5.574

[1] Any other figures are related to 2011, i.e. to the female clients who were counseled in 2011 for the first time or counseled again

Sex of the perpetrators 2011

Female 88%

Male 12%

Sex Number Percent

Female 3488 88,1%

Male 471 11,9%

Total 3959 100,0%

Accompanying to proceedings in 2009

Persons Number Percent

Female 836 93,9%

Male 54 6,1%

Total 890 100,0%

Victim nationality according to countries in 2011

Nationality Number PercentAustria 2.227 56,3%Serbia 289 7,3%Turkey 191 4,8%Poland 138 3,5%Romania 101 2,6%Slovakia 68 1,7%Bosnia-Herzegowina 58 1,5%Bulgaria 43 1,1%Russia 39 1,0%Germany 36 0,9%Croatia 35 0,9%Hungary 27 0,7%Macedonia 22 0,6%Nigeria 17 0,4%Ukraine 15 0,4%Afghanistan 15 0,4%Iran 13 0,3%India 12 0,3%Egypt 11 0,3%Stateless 10 0,3%Philippines 9 0,2%

Nationality Number PercentCzech Republic 9 0,2%China 8 0,2%Italy, Kosovo, Tunisia á 6 18 0,5%

Iraq, Kenia, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Somalia, Thailand á 5 35 0,9%

Chile, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Israel, Slovenia á 4 24 0,6%

Armenia, Brasil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, Latvia, Moldova, Sweden á 3 21 0,5%

Azerbaijan, Finnland, Kamerun, Columbia, Liberia, Lietuva, Mexiko, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Saudi-Arabia, Spainn, South Korea, USA, Vietnamá2

32 0,8%

Angola, Argentina, Ethiopia, Australia, Bangladesch, Belgium, Ecuador, Greece, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Guinea-Bissau, Kazakhstan, Luxemburg, Mali, Montenegro, Oman, Autonomous Palestinian Territories, Paraguay, Switzerland, Sierra Leone, Tadzhikistan, Uganda, Belarus á 1

22 0,6%

unknown 414 10,5%TOTAL 3.959 100,0%

Thank you for your attention

alexandra.weissenbacher@interventionsstelle-wien.at

www.interventionsstelle-wien.at