Austria's action plan: Control against women!

Austria's action plan: Control against women!

Österreich - Austria's Council of Ministers today decided to combat violence against women. The coordination of the plan is located at the Ministry of Women, in close cooperation with the ministries for the Interior, Education and Justice. The aim of the action plan is to identify and close existing gaps in protection, which are underpinned by the recommendations of institutions such as the Council of Europe, the Court of Auditors and the new EU directive against gender violence. The formal decision of the Council of Ministers introduces the development of the plan, in which numerous NGOs, specialist institutions and experts are also involved, so that a broad basis is created to actively combat violence against women.

Minister of women Eva Maria Holzleitner (SPÖ) emphasized the clear zero tolerance towards any form of violence against women. Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ) emphasized the importance of prevention, especially with regard to the worrying figures of female: In 2024, 27 women in Austria have already been victims of female or attempted homicide, according to the current police crime statistics. The majority of these violent crimes are happening in the social regulation, which is why victim protection organizations are urgently improved advisory services and a secure financing of protective devices.

preventive measures and implementation of the Istanbul Convention

The project is part of a more extensive policy approach that also requires the full implementation of the Istanbul Convention, a central international law instrument to combat violence against women in Europe. Austria signed this convention on May 11, 2011, ratified it on November 14, 2013 and it came into force on August 1, 2014. The convention includes all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, and recognizes structural violence as one of the main causes of gender -specific violence. The mandatory measures of the convention require the contractual states to promote both legal and de facto equality between women and men.

According to a report, Austria has largely implemented the measures of the Istanbul Convention, but there is still a need for implementation in some areas. This was also found in the evaluation by Grevio (Group of Experts on Action Against Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence). In 2023, Grevio started a second round of evaluation on selected convention articles, and in June 2023 a corresponding implementation report was sent to the Council. The report and the statement of Austria will be published in September 2024.

success and challenges

The interministerial working group "Protection of women against violence" that has been active since 2013 is continuously working on the coordination of political measures to prevent violence as well as on legal projects and the intensification of international cooperation. However, it cannot be overlooked that despite ongoing efforts, some suggestions from civil society have not been included in the National Action Plan (NAP) because the focus is on feasibility and sustainability. It is also important to mention that measures to protect women from human trafficking and violence in conflicts are not anchored in the national action plan, since there are already separate action plans for these topics.