Vienna, November 27, 2024. The most dangerous place for women is often their own home. In 2024, Austria will already have 27 femicides and 39 cases of serious violence against women. The most common crime scene: an apartment. But exactly where violence happens, a new beginning can also arise. For many women, the most pressing question after leaving a violent relationship is: Where to go? Women’s shelters offer protection, security and hope at this crucial moment.
The fight against violence against women does not end at the doors of women’s shelters
The protective facilities are more than a roof over your head: they give women and children the opportunity to find peace and develop perspectives. But protection against violence must not end at the doors of women’s shelters. To ensure that the further steps towards a self-determined life after a stay in a women’s shelter are as free of obstacles as possible, affordable housing is indispensable as an essential component of violence prevention: it opens doors to security, stability and future prospects. That’s why we as a society must create the structures that enable women affected to live a life free of violence.
Our demands on politics and society
The Association of Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters calls on the future government and the federal states to live up to their responsibilities and to further promote the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention, which Austria ratified in 2013. Specifically, we demand:
- Nationwide access to women’s shelters:
Protection against violence must not have geographical boundaries. We therefore call for the removal of federal barriers so that every woman, regardless of where she lives, can find refuge in a women’s shelter in Austria. - The expansion of women’s shelter places, especially in rural regions:
Women’s shelter places must also be sufficiently available in rural regions. It must be ensured that affected women and children find immediate protection. - More affordable, permanent housing for women affected by violence:
After a stay in a women’s shelter, women and children must have easy access to affordable housing in order to be able to lead a sustainable, violence-free life. - Long-term financing of women’s shelters:
Women’s shelters are an indispensable pillar in protecting against violence. That’s why we demand sustainable, permanent financing.
Take responsibility together
Violence against women is not an individual problem, but a structural, societal problem. All of us – politics, institutions and civil society – have a responsibility to create a society in which every woman and every child can say: Safe today. Tomorrow for sure!
Statements from the panel participants:
Doris Schmidauer, Wife of the Federal President:
“I hope that at some point women’s shelters will no longer be needed. Because our society is free of gender-based violence. Because women are no longer exposed to domestic violence. But there is still a long way to go until then. Until then, the autonomous Austrian women’s shelters are also needed.”
Maja Markanović-Riedl, Managing Director of the Association of Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters:
“Our urgent appeal to the future government and the federal states: Don’t skimp on protection from violence! On the contrary: women’s shelters need to be expanded, especially in rural areas. And more permanent, affordable housing is needed for women and children affected by violence after staying in women’s shelters!”
Elisabeth Cinatl, Managing director of the wendepunkt association – women’s shelter and women’s advice center in Wiener Neustadt:
“Stepping out of a violent relationship takes a lot of courage. The women’s shelters are available around the clock to women affected by domestic violence and their children. In addition to protection and accommodation, women’s shelters offer advice and support in building a self-determined and violence-free life – affordable housing is an existential contribution to this path.”
Jan Wunderlichcoordinator of feminist men’s work StoP – districts without partner violence:
“I also want to dispel the myth that men have something to lose by advocating for gender equality. This can mean, for example, taking a clear stance against sexist jokes from colleagues. It can also mean caring for others, such as childcare or caring for relatives. It’s primarily up to us men: let’s take responsibility, let’s break with rigid role models!”