Expert explains

Why homeless people become victims of violence

The homeless man was set on fire here.

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

There are more and more brutal attacks on homeless people - also in Styria. Graz expert on the "Krone": "Lack of empathy is increasing".

The fire phantom of Graz is still on the loose - yesterday's "Krone" revelation is causing a stir! As reported, the investigations against the 65-year-old Russian who was strongly suspected of setting fire to a 52-year-old homeless man have been dropped. The Hungarian had been sleeping on Lendplatz and was then set on fire by an unknown person.

Violence against women and men living on the streets is on the rise
Questions upon questions - but one thing is certain: violence against women and men living on the streets is on the rise. Last year, a 17-year-old was arrested in Vienna for murdering two homeless people, and in Kapfenberg, the case of three boys who almost tortured a woman without shelter to death for "fun" caused horror. "They even took a lighter in their hands to cause more serious injuries when they hit her," says the Graz court expert and psychiatrist Manfred Walzl, who was present at the trial in Leoben.

Psychiatrist Manfred Walzl

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

An unknown perpetrator is now being investigated again. But who could it have been? Was it someone who has an abysmal hatred of homeless people? Or is the attacker perhaps to be found in the homeless milieu?

In general, he has observed an increase in such heinous crimes: "The lack of empathy is increasing. People are attacking the weakest members of society, coldly exploiting their defencelessness. This is the symptom of a society that no longer cares about its neighbors, but only about itself."

A lack of rules at home, daily reports of violence in the media, but also peer pressure are to blame: "That's when you really feel strong," says Walzl, who also sees drug abuse as one of the causes.