Clinic Innsbruck

A new outpatient clinic for more protection against violence

Provincial councillors Hagele (left) and Pawlata with Klaus Kapelari, medical director of the center.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Most cases of domestic violence and sexual assault are never reported to the police. If victims do seek help, they do so primarily in healthcare facilities. The Innsbruck Clinic is therefore significantly expanding its range of help and offers more than just medical care.

A woman comes to the clinic's emergency room with a broken arm. The nursing staff and doctors quickly realize that the injury is the result of domestic violence. Stories like this occur alarmingly often. According to a survey, more than 26 percent of patients in the emergency outpatient departments at Innsbruck Hospital are affected by domestic violence. Not only women, but mainly (70%).

Victims can appear in all areas of the clinic.

Andrea Hohenegger, stv. Leiterin Opferschutzgruppe

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

Comprehensive care and preservation of evidence
What to do in such a situation? The largest hospital in Tyrol has been working intensively on this question for years. Staff have been trained, victim protection groups set up and dedicated contact points created. Now, with a newly established violence protection outpatient clinic and competence center, an important facility with its own premises has been added. In addition to medical help, victims will receive psychosocial support and sound evidence in the event that charges are brought.

"Injury documentation is crucial in court," says Marion Pavlic from the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University, emphasizing the importance of preserving evidence. Even if a victim does not want to press charges for the time being, experts advise them to do so. Surveys show that many victims only summon up the courage to go to court after some time. Without solid evidence, however, a conviction is hardly realistic.

The core competencies of forensic medicine include the assessment of physical injuries and their documentation for use in court.

Marion Pavlic, Gerichtsmedizin der Medizin-Uni Innsbruck

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

Health Minister Cornelia Hagele (ÖVP) and Women's Affairs Minister Eva Pawlata (SPÖ) see the new competence center as a pioneering project. "It is low-threshold and accessible around the clock," says Hagele, citing two advantages. Pawlata points out "that psychosocial counseling in particular is an enormously important additional service to medical care".

New training program for employees
At the same time as the new facility, Tirol Kliniken is launching a training program for employees. Each facility will have a violence protection officer. The knowledge is also to be passed on to the districts. The role that hospitals play in victim protection is shown by the statistics: victims seek help mainly in healthcare facilities (20%), less often from the police (16.9%) and relevant advice centers (12.5%). The majority try to conceal their ordeal.