The death of Upper Austrian doctor Lisa-Maria Kellermayr, which also sparked hate speech and death threats from anonymous opponents of vaccination, made headlines in recent days. Many other doctors were and are exposed to such threats. Especially if they publicly comment on Corona. The medical association is therefore demanding stricter laws and higher penalties.
In the case of virologist Dorothea van Laer, the threats even led to a burnout, the Ö1 “Morgenjournal” reported on Wednesday morning. The first year of the coronavirus pandemic was particularly tough for her, she recalls: “It weighed heavily on me too, especially because some of these hate mails were really hurtful. I then learned to express myself a little more carefully, to always present it as my subjective opinion. That might have made me less of a target.”
Nevertheless, the effects of the hate and threatening emails from the Corona deniers were serious for the Tyrolean: “In the first year it meant that I had a burnout in November and was absent for a whole month.”
Due to the massive attacks, Van Laer sometimes went out on the streets alone with a wig. Most threats came via email. “Obviously the inhibitions are falling on the internet and then it went below the belt and it was really with expressions you can’t repeat,” she said.
“It’s not over when you read it”
Hans-Peter Hutter, hygiene expert at MedUni Vienna and in this capacity often in the media during the pandemic, was and is exposed to threats from opponents of the measures, he said in an interview. You need a thick skin: “It’s not over when you read it, it resonates. It makes you angry, you think, ‘What kind of brutality is that.’ And that gnaws at you.”
He recognized that relatively quickly and radically stopped, says Hutter (picture above). Discussions with the authors would be of little use, so his solution is: remove “Brutal” if the headline and subject seem strange.
De-escalation courses are always fully booked
The Medical Association (ÖÄK) is aware of the problems, as Rudolf Schmitzberger emphasized in the Ö1 contribution. As head of ÖÄK’s vaccination affairs department, he is also hit by threats. The first measures have already been taken: According to Schmitzberger, the Vienna Medical Association has started a course on de-escalation measures with a self-defense unit. “You see how dramatic the situation is. These courses are always fully booked.” Such courses are also available at the Salzburg Medical Association, an anti-bullying burnout supervision center (AMBOSS) has been established in Styria, an ombudsman for bullying, violence, sexism and racism for female doctors and doctors in Vienna.
Medical association calls for stricter laws
In relation to the Lisa-Maria Kellermayr case, the MP also called for tougher laws, tougher penalties and a change in awareness — specifically that “threats and hatred on the Internet should no longer be taken lightly as a trivial crime”. These should also be pursued consistently by the authorities.
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.
