At the time of writing, 12 femicides have been committed in Austria since the start of the year. Femicide, the killing of women and girls on the grounds of their gender, has no place in any society.
We, as UNSA Vienna, condemn these femicides and call for action from the State. Since 2012, our work has aimed at raising awareness about and promoting exchange on the topic of femicide within the UN framework. The Femicide Team is wholeheartedly dedicated to ending all forms of violence against women: our work shows what has been done so far and what must be done further to improve the safety of women and girls. Members of the Femicide Team have also established aglobal Femicide Watch Platform, endorsed by the United Nations Office on Drugsand Crime (UNODC). Sadly, there are still many forms of violence against women and girls, as well as many manifestations of femicide in Austria, which need to be addressed and made visible to policy makers and the public.
Our call is to follow and implement the Istanbul Convention in order to improve victim protection in Austria. As part of this, the exchange of data between institutions and organisations must be improved and also specifics of femicides must be examined and recorded in detail. Furthermore, preventive measures against femicide should be implemented.
We are aware that a long fight lies ahead. Yet, we also know that together we cantake a stand against femicide.
