The Silent Witnesses campaign commemorates women who were murdered by their partners or former partners. Each figure of the exhibition represents a woman who was killed in Austria in past years. These women were full of life, they had families, friends – and dreams. Now they are silent, forever. They cannot tell us what happened. It is upon us not to forget their stories and to remember them.
The Silent Witnesses figures also represent the large number of women whose stories we cannot tell here. Each life is unique, and it is next to impossible to describe this uniqueness in but a few lines. When we prepared this exhibition we had to face and accept the fact that these women are dead and that we cannot do anything for them now. And we had to realise that their actions, their endeavours and their attempts to protect themselves against violence were not enough. Their lives came to a violent end, but our feeling of shock about how they had to die will remain.
All the stories that we tell in the context of this campaign have one aspect in common: the murders did not happen out of the blue. Each of these women had been abused and threatened by their partners for a long time, some of them for many years. And a few of the murders had been announced. 
FACTS & FIGURES
In Austria women are murdered by their partners or former partners every year. They are killed by a person to whom they were very close – and sometimes in front of their children. Often, the murder is the horrible final act in a long history of violence, and frequently the murderers announce the deed. Still, murders
of women are but the tip of the iceberg: one out of five women in Austria have experienced violence committed by a close male relative at least once in life. In 2008, 3,220 women and children had to flee to women’s shelters in order to protect themselves from beatings, threats and psychological terror.
Annually, between 30 and 40 women are murdered in Austria², often by their husbands, partners, brothers or former partners. More than half of all murders that are committed in one year in Austria take place within a partnership or a family, i.e., a place where we expect to be safe and protected.
Many of the Silent Witnesses were killed by their former partners or husbands. The stage of separation or divorce – if a woman decides to take this step, which may be very difficult – is the most dangerous time for many women. Scientific studies have shown that the risk to be killed is five times as high for women during the separation stage. Many murders of women that are committed in family contexts never get known: the majority of honour killings are not noticed by the public: they are disguised as accidents or suicides. Sometimes, a woman is reported missing by her family and her murder is hushed up.
AN ALLIANCE AGAINST FEMICIDE
Fatma Y. came to the counselling centre and said, ‘Please help me, he will kill me!’ Sahide G. said goodbye to her colleagues at the German language course and added, ‘I don’t know if I will see you again on Monday.’ Each of them knew that she was in great danger. A number of women experiencing violence have already made many attempts to protect themselves from their violent partners. They have contacted support centres and taken every legal step that is possible in Austria. But still, this has turned out to be insufficient. Unfortunately, the authorities concerned often state that they have done enough to protect a victim, even if this is not true.
After the murders of Fatma Y. and Sahide G. the Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre Vienna submitted an individual complaint to the CEDAW Committee that had been established in the context of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In 2007 the Committee decided that Austria had not sufficiently protected the two women. The Committee acknowledged that Austria had adopted a number of important laws that protected women from male violence, but that it was not enough to have good laws as they also must be enforced by all State actors in order to protect victims. The Committee also stated that ‘the perpetrator’s right cannot supersede women’s human rights to life and to physical and mental integrity’.
PROTECTION AGAINST VIOLENCE IS A HUMAN RIGHT
In order to prevent murders of women in future it is important that every country provides a legal basis that protects women against violence committed by their partners. Still, laws alone are not enough: victims of violence must be taken seriously and protected by the police, the courts and all other authorities in charge of applying these laws. The professions concerned need specific further training programmes in order to understand the dynamics that characterise violent relationships. The women’s shelters also provide protection and safety. In 1987 the Committee on Women’s Rights of the European Parliament recommended to establish 1 place in a women’s shelter for every 10 000 inhabitants. This recommendation should be implemented
in every country so as to protect women and to enhance their safety.
In order to develop adequate measures that protect women against violence, it is important to have statistical data. In Austria, only few gender-related data on murders in relationships are available.
Violence against women is a crime that violates human rights and has to be punished under the rule of law. Only in this way can violence and murders be prevented in future.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are indepted to: Ursula Janig, Casa delle Donne / Bologna / Italy,
all Violence Protection Centres and Domestic Abuse Intervention Centres in Austria, that contacted their relatives and communicated histories of women.
We are grateful to the relatives of the murder victims: we appreciate their courage and their readiness to take part in the Silent Witnesses campaign.
We express our thanks to Ecker & Partner for their financial support.
Owners and publishers: Austrian Women’s Shelters Network and
Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre Vienna
Concept and editing: Daniela Almer, Michaela Krenn
Graphic design: liga: graphic design
Photos: Severin Koller
Translation: Susanne Ofner (phoenix)
The campaign is sponsored by:
Austria's Women's Shelter Network
Domestic Abuse Intervention Center Vienna
Federal Ministry for Women
Federal Ministry of the Interior
ecker&partner
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