Violence on the rise

New group of experts for more safety in Tyrol

Social Affairs Minister Eva Pawlata (2nd from right) invited experts. Astrid Mair (right), head of security, was also present.(Bild: Land Tirol/Dorfmann)

From insults to broken bones: Violence is on the rise in the province. Social Affairs Councillor Eva Pawlata (SPÖ) has now drummed up a (further) group of experts.

If you look at the statistics on the subject of violence, the figures are pointing upwards. According to Statista, there were 85,374 reports of violence in Austria in 2023, compared to 69,282 ten years earlier. Violence against women in particular is on the rise. Politicians have been trying to reduce these figures for years - so far without success.

The clear aim is to promote structured cooperation and ongoing networking with the various system partners.

Eva Pawlata

The expert group meets quarterly
Provincial Social Welfare Councillor Eva Pawlata is now taking a new approach and has launched a group of experts on this topic, which met for the first time this week. The meetings are to take place on a quarterly basis. The experts come from the fields of victim protection, perpetrator work, police and justice as well as hospitals, but also from the fields of women, men, children and young people, elderly and old people, people with disabilities and people with a migration background.

Politicians are increasingly involved in this "violence prevention" group. "The clear aim is to promote structured cooperation and ongoing networking with the various system partners."

640,000 euros for violence prevention
The state has earmarked around 640,000 euros for 2024. Prevention measures include campaigns against violence against women, workshops for young people on violence prevention and for girls on self-assertion and self-defence, training programs for perpetrators to end violence or measures for violence in childcare facilities or in old age.

We can only hope that the new group of experts on violence prevention set up by the state of Tyrol will bring down the figures on violence - at least in Tyrol.