The murder of a young bride in Villach was the sad culmination of a brutal series of acts of violence against women – that does not end. Cases of domestic violence, violent relationship disputes and battered women are reported almost daily in Carinthia.
“Every woman who is killed, every woman who is beaten is one act too many and gives us the task of continuing to work against violence,” says the current report from the Klagenfurt Violence Protection Center, which saw 1,219 victims last year. escorted – 961 of them Ladies. They were mainly stalked, threatened, abused, sexually coerced or even raped by their (ex-) partners in or after relationships. Of the 1059 identified perpetrators, 934 are men, more than two thirds (759) have Austrian nationality and 87 of them could not be accompanied without an interpreter.
Entry and approach ban issued 814 times
The police had to issue an entry and approach ban 814 times: “17 percent more than in the previous year,” reports Andrea Kollermann of the Center for Violence Protection. These bans are imposed in the hope that these kinds of drastic measures – which are accompanied by a safety plan and a risk inventory and recently also made mandatory for offender supervision – will prevent further acts of violence.
Like the one on 29-year-old Madalina in Villach. She and her boyfriend Andrei wanted to get married. But the relationship – both from the red light district – was already marked by violence. When a row over jealousy and a broken cell phone escalated, Andrei allegedly beat his bride to death and left the body for the district administration in Villach. “He must answer to the jury on September 14 for murder,” confirms Christian Liebhauser-Karl, spokesman for the regional court in Klagenfurt.
Escalation of violence: 30 femicides in one year
This femicide was one of 30 (!) in Austria within a year, in Carinthia the sad culmination of a brutal series of violent actions against women. There were 656 cases of massive intimate partner violence alone, ending with 352 criminal charges for (serious) bodily harm, 236 for dangerous threats or coercion, 59 for stalking and two for attempted murder.
“The problem is that we need not only a violence protection package, but also a social development package,” says expert Kollermann. “As long as patriarchal structures are so deeply entrenched, as long as some men position themselves as power and control authorities over their wives and children and many find nothing wrong with it, the violence will not abate.” fight back, set boundaries. “It’s not okay to hit or touch a woman without being asked. Violence should never be legitimized.”
planned innovations
In order to combat it even more strictly, innovations are planned: in every Carinthian police station, a police officer is specially trained in domestic violence in order to be able to help better. And our own violence ambulances are supposed to look after the professional safeguarding of evidence.
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.
