Neustart counsels more than 1,750 people on violence since 2021

More than 1,750 people have received violence prevention counselling from the Neustart association in Burgenland since September 2021, ORF reports. The counselling is mandatory for people subject to an approach and entry ban.

The association counsels about 350 people each year in Burgenland following such bans, Neustart director Alexander Grohs said. The number varies from year to year.

“I do not believe that violence is fundamentally increasing, but that more is becoming known about what was previously hidden,” Grohs said.

Around 90 percent of those required to complete the six-hour counselling are men. Violence has no age limit, Grohs said, although most people attending are aged between 30 and 40. Neustart has also counselled both very young and very old people.

The first counselling session must take place within 14 days of the entry ban. Grohs said this was important because the situation was still fresh and counsellors could demand that those involved take responsibility.

Many people initially do not understand why they have been referred, he said. They do not consider their actions violence, but behaviour they believe they are entitled to. Counsellors work with them to help them recognise which of their actions constitute violence against others.

According to Grohs, the proportion of people who return to Neustart as a result of a new entry ban after counselling is in the single digits.

The Association of Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters has recorded 18 femicides in Austria this year up to early September.