The Council of Europe’s expert committee on violence against women and domestic violence (GREVIO) has praised Austrian authorities for tackling violence against women, as well as misogynistic comments and online harassment.
GREVIO, which monitors compliance with the Istanbul Convention, a Europe-wide treaty aimed at combating violence against women and girls, released its report seven years after the first review of Austria.
Austria’s 2019 Violence Protection Act was singled out for praise, as it reintroduced security police case conferences and implemented mandatory violence prevention counselling for perpetrators of domestic violence.
However, GREVIO criticised the fact that, while restraining orders now complement police exclusion orders, “law enforcement authorities do not systematically inform childcare facilities and schools when children are covered by these protective measures.”
In family law cases following incidents of domestic violence, further steps are needed to ensure the safety of the non-violent parent and their children.
The report also called for better training for family court judges and court-appointed experts on the impact of domestic violence on children. Similarly, it noted a lack of mandatory training for judges and prosecutors on gender-based violence against women, including sexual violence, and the effects of trauma on witness testimony.
Concerns were also raised about the persistently high number of women killed in Austria. However, the report acknowledged that authorities are aware of the issue, citing studies on femicides. GREVIO further warned about the easy access that children and young people have to violent online pornography via smartphones, which is seen as one of the causes of sexual violence against women and girls.
As countermeasures, the report recommended targeted awareness campaigns for parents and children, along with additional prevention initiatives.
“It is encouraging to see that the many measures we have implemented over the past five years to protect women from violence are being recognised internationally,” responded Austria’s Minister for Women, Susanne Raab. “For instance, we have more than tripled the women’s budget to €33.6 million in recent years. A large portion of these funds is allocated to violence protection. We have also fully funded violence protection centres and established a women’s and girls’ counselling centre in each political district, increasing their funding by 153% since 2019,” the minister added.
The report shows that violence protection measures are having an effect, remarked Justice Minister Alma Zadić. “I am pleased that we Greens have succeeded in overcoming the black-blue years of stagnation in women’s rights, which left a deep mark,” she said.