Femicide in Austria

“On Friday, four women and a girl were killed in Vienna. One incident occurred in a brothel and claimed the lives of three women. In a second case, a mother and her 13-year-old daughter were found dead in their apartment in Vienna,” reports ZEIT ONLINE.

“Against the three women in the brothel, massive violence was used, and the victims had severe cut and stab wounds. The motive for the crime remains unclear. A 27-year-old suspect has been arrested by the police. In the second case, the mother and her daughter were likely strangled or suffocated. The main suspect in this case is believed to be the father of the 13-year-old girl.

According to the AÖF – Verein Autonome Österreichische Frauenhäuser – Association of Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters, there were 26 femicides reported last year, as per the news agency AFP. The Austrian government has announced plans to tackle these crimes and promised increased financial support for organizations that assist victims of violence,” reports ZEIT. “Following the recent femicides, Eva-Maria Holzleitner, the Federal Women’s Chair of the opposition SPÖ, called on the federal government to convene a crisis meeting and work together on a National Action Plan for Violence Protection. One in three women in Austria is affected by violence, and the number of femicides is the highest in Europe, Holzleitner stated.”