Austria: five femicides in one day
In Austria, five women were killed violently in one day. Three bodies with knife wounds were found in a brothel last Friday. A 27-year-old suspect was arrested nearby, according to police. Another woman and her daughter were discovered dead in their home in Vienna, both bodies showing signs of strangulation. Commentators call for a serious debate, at the very least.
Debate with blinkers off
Femicide must be discussed publicly and at length, Der Standard demands:
“There must be a broad discussion that addresses all its variations. To only focus on femicide, male violence and sexism when the perpetrator looks foreign is racist hypocrisy. Likewise, not talking about the fact that immigrant misogyny is also a serious problem is blindness. Both aspects need to be addressed. Now. Without blinkers, without grudges, with sensitivity and with the pressure on. Because there is no time to lose. According to the statistics, one in three women in Austria is exposed to physical or sexual violence.”
The government just doesn't get it
Newspaper taz is outraged over the silence of so many ministers:
“Whereas on every other occasion in Austria, press conferences are used to demonstrate a will to act, there was no one at the lecterns over the weekend. Not a single powerful politician was there to explain why powerful men are a problem. ... The fact that not even the extreme level of violence against women of recent days could stop the minister [for families and women's affairs] whitewashing matters or rouse the rest of the government from its silence shows yet again that they do not see the protection of women as their responsibility.”