Many advertisements, relatively few beliefs: this discrepancy in violence in families, especially against women, is mainly due to the difficult evidence. In the violation of the Graz of Violence, fresh traces of the actions are protected for processes. The balance after the first year shows how important this facility is.
Unfortunately it is not an isolated matter: when making an interrogation for the criminal police, a woman describes how she seriously injured her partner. When the lawsuit against the man then, it puts his actions in perspective. “Whether it is out of solidarity or fear, we don’t know,” says Verena Oswald, judge at the Graz Court of Criminal Court.
There is still a conviction. It is crucial that the injuries of the woman were documented shortly after the crime in the violence at the Medical University of Graz. This facility has been around since 2008 and a milestone has been established with the expansion, new building and financing of the federal government. Now a balance was drawn that affects.
237 studies in one year
No fewer than 237 clinical forensic studies, from head to toe, including photos and written documentation, were performed in April 2024 to March 2025 by forensic doctors. This is almost a triple compared to the years before! “And the figures continue to rise, the ceiling has not yet reached,” says Sarah Heinze, head of forensic medicine and the wealth of violence. “This shows: we are better known and more and more accepted.”
There are also more legal proceedings due to violence, sexual coercion and threats in the social close area, ie within relationships or after their end. In the Austria there were around 1600 charges in Styria about 300 in Styria, reports Michael Schwanda, president of the Higher Regional Court Graz. This year it should be even more. Schwanda also attributes this to an increased consciousness.
“Frequency often behind closed doors”
However, the number of convictions is rather stagnant, in the previous year it was 589 rural (160 in Styria). “The actions often take place behind closed doors, there are no immediate witnesses. There is a statement against declaration for the court,” explains Judges Oswald the difficult evidence. The result: a lot of doubt in doubt. The work of the violence is all the more important.
In addition to Graz, there is now also such a facility in Vienna. The two were financially protected in the double budget 2025/26, emphasizes Minister of Female Eva-Maria Holzleitner (Spö) in Graz. It describes the outpatient clinic as the “Central first step for those affected by the spirits”, the Minister of Justice Anna Sporrer (Spö) also praises the “groundbreaking work” in Graz: “Offer should encourage this facility.”
Further ambulances in Austria should follow, the expansion is planned in the government program. Conversations with Innsbruck are quite far, said Sporrer.
Broad journey of the victims as a problem
In any case, Sarah Heinze and her team are full of ride in Graz. It announces new recommendations for action and training, and a telegenese medical offer in Leoben should also start until the early fall. Ideally, other locations follow to save the victims of the violence from the long journey to Graz – you also cover carinthia and the South Burgenland.
With a long arrival, the valuable time is lost for the preservation of evidence. “We recently had an older lady from the German district of Germany, who could only have lunch because she trusted on public transport and did not take a bus in advance,” reports Heinze from practice.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
