Help and the law


Help and
the law

Help and the law

1. Advice

  • Are you uncertain as to whether it is violence?
  • Would you like an autonomous life which is free of violence?
  • Do you want to protect your children from violence?

Prepare for your safe escape with our advice!

2. Planning

Plan your escape and ONLY tell people whom you trust

3. Safe arrival

Switch your phone off before you make your escape and remove the batteries!

Put your personal safety first!

Have the following emergency numbers ready

133 for the police, 112 for the European emergency telephone number

If you don’t want anyone else to see what you’re reading:

click on the button and you will be taken to the ORF TVthek website.

Violence is wrong

Violence comes in many forms.

Violence frequently starts with verbal abuse and sometimes ends in death.

Violence can be just as serious for bystanders.

A violent environment leaves people traumatised.

On in every 5 women experiences violence from their (former) husband/partner.

Forms of violence

This means hitting, kicking, pushing, pinching, pulling hair, choking, burning, threatening with a weapon or injuring another person. In the wider sense, physical violence is also the destruction of or damage to personal property, home furnishings or the torturing of pets.

Behaviour which is abusive, devaluing or defamatory aims to destroy another person’s self-esteem and mental health. Over the long term, the identity of the woman who is the victim of such abuse and their perception of having rights or personal choices becomes limited. Mental abuse also includes ridiculing a person or insulting them in public.

Stalking is also a form of mental abuse. This means persistently following someone by pestering or calling on them, as well as repeated attempts at personal contact of a harassing or threatening nature.

This includes all sexual acts that are imposed or forced on a woman against her will, in particular rape. Sexual assaults are wrong – and they are also a criminal offence if committed by a spouse!

This refers to unequal access to financial resources. In such cases, the partner takes money or valuables away from the woman, determines how much money she can spend and what she can buy, forbids her from having her own bank account and stops her from working to prevent her independence.

Isolation is a common strategy for controlling and dominating women. This means locking someone up in their home and forbidding them from contacting their family, friends or acquaintances. Women are restricted in terms of their mobility.

Physical violence and mental abuse towards children and child abuse are criminal offences. Since 2016, seeing a loved one experience violence has been enshrined in the law as a threat to the wellbeing of children.

– THE UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN OF 20TH DECEMBER 1993 –

“Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women. Violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men.”

Checklist for an autonomous life

Your start in the women’s shelter will be easier if you bring the following things with you:

Documents:

  • Passport or ID documents for you and your children
  • Residence permit and work permit
  • E-cards
  • Medical certificates
  • Rental agreements, vaccination cards, proof of court rulings and decisions
  • Evidence of acts of violence
    (if available)

Also: 

  • Money, debit/credit cards and savings books
  • Urgent medicines
  • Emergency bag with important items of clothing
  • School things, favourite toys for your children
  • Keys to your home
  • Escape plan and emergency telephone numbers

Your rights

FREEDOM – SAFETY – LIVELIHOOD

Your rights

FREEDOM – SAFETY – LIVELIHOOD

Every woman decides for herself whether to go to a women’s shelter.

When you arrive at the shelter, you retain your rights of custody for your children, your home and your shared assets.

The perpetrator is responsible for the violence!

Your freedom, safety and livelihood are human rights.

Austria acknowledged the Istanbul Convention – the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence – in 2013.

Eviction

In the event of danger, the police may evict the violent offender from the home, even if he is the sole tenant/owner of the home and pays the costs of it.

Ban on entry

The police can ban the violent offender from entering the home for two weeks. In the event of a ban on entry, the offender’s vehicle is also prohibited from going within 100 m of the home, which protects the persons who are affected by the violence.

Restraining order

You can apply for a “restraining order” in a court. This prohibits the violent offender from staying in your home or other places for an extended period of time and/or from contacting you. NÖ Gewaltschutzzentrum (Lower Austria Centre for Protection against Violence) can also apply for this on your behalf.

Eviction

In the event of danger, the police may evict the violent offender from the home, even if he is the sole tenant/owner of the home and pays the costs of it.

Ban on entry

The police can ban the violent offender from entering the home for two weeks. In the event of a ban on entry, the offender’s vehicle is also prohibited from going within 100 m of the home, which protects the persons who are affected by the violence.

Restraining order

You can apply for a “restraining order” in a court. This prohibits the violent offender from staying in your home or other places for an extended period of time and/or from contacting you. NÖ Gewaltschutzzentrum (Lower Austria Centre for Protection against Violence) can also apply for this on your behalf.

If you don’t want anyone else to see what you’re reading:

click on the button and you will be taken to the ORF TVthek website.