After 32 years

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A protest against the impending closure of the Fauenbüro will be held in front of Klagenfurt City Hall on Wednesday, February 5.(Bild: Rojsek-Wiedergut Uta)

32 years of the Klagenfurt Women's Office means support for countless women and often for their children. Surprisingly, the impending end of the institution has met with little resistance so far. However, a protest action is planned for Wednesday in front of the town hall.

The Women's Office in Klagenfurt - now called the Office for Women, Equal Opportunities and Generations and located at Kumpfgasse 20/3 - has been there for women of all ages and with all kinds of concerns for 32 years. "The advice is free and anonymous. I've sent countless women here over the years; young women who were pregnant, women who wanted or needed to get out of their relationship. It was often about housing," recalls Andrea Wulz, who as a former city councillor in Klagenfurt was responsible for women's issues, among other things. "Christian Scheider was also once a consultant for this. And he always praised the work of the women's office," recalls Wulz. However, Patrick Jonke, local councillor, head of the mayor's office and new deputy mayor in Klagenfurt from the end of April, had already considered closing the women's office the previous year.

Protest on February 5

From 10.30 am to 11.30 am, Andrea Wulz and numerous fellow campaigners will be protesting against the impending closure of the Women's Office: on Wednesday, February 5, in front of Klagenfurt City Hall.

"There has always been a struggle for the budget at the Women's Office and it has always been minimally staffed. But this has nothing to do with the one-twelfth regulation, because the staff are municipal employees anyway," says Wulz. This is therefore not a voluntary financial benefit, which would not be possible at present due to the lack of budget. "The fact that the few female employees now have to work in other departments and can no longer take care of women and their concerns means that the Women's Office is even thinner. If it is dissolved now, it will be over. That would be a huge step backwards. I can't just stand by and watch. I have to do something. You have to fight!" says Andrea Wulz, who is now not a politician or in any other function. "I am a citizen, a mother, a grandmother and I am fighting for this service facility!"