After the women's shelter

A home to start a life without violence

Cozy: the artist couple Io Tondolo and Itshe Petz design the 13 temporary apartments

(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Where to go when you no longer have to stay in a women's shelter, but are not quite ready for a safe, independent life? In Styria, there will soon be 13 new transitional homes for victims of intimate partner violence. The first one was opened in Leibnitz on Friday.

Three rooms, kitchen, bathroom, balcony: in August, this council apartment in Leibnitz will become the new home of a woman and her children. However, the reason why she is moving in here is not a happy one: the temporary apartment is one of 13 housing units that are available to victims of violence for up to a year. "These are women who have been in our women's shelter for a while," explains Managing Director Michaela Gosch. "They can move in here when they are no longer specifically at risk and continue to receive support from us and the women's advice centers."

The apartment is the home from which the family should find their way back to a self-determined, violence-free life - the women look for work, the children go to school. Nevertheless, there is a security door, good locks and cameras. Lovingly furnished with vintage and Ikea furniture by artist couple Io Tondolo and Itshe Petz, there is room for one woman with up to three children and a toddler.

Club leader Barbara Riener (ÖVP), Minister for Women's Affairs Susanne Raab (ÖVP), Doris Kampus (SPÖ), State Councillor for Protection against Violence, and women's shelter manager Michaela Gosch

(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Standing on their own two feet
"This space is the basis for women being able to stand on their own two feet again," says ÖVP Women's Minister Susanne Raab. The federal government is contributing 1.6 million euros over four years. "The clients pay the rent themselves - the federal government and local authorities only help out if necessary," says Gosch.

Apartments in nine district capitals and Graz
In addition to Leibnitz, there will also be such transitional housing in eight other district capitals in the future - for example in Bruck, Leoben and Judenburg. In Graz, there are already eight housing units financed by the province of Styria, and four more are now being added.

"The regional infrastructure - police, advice centres, child protection centers - is very important in this area," emphasizes Social Affairs Minister Doris Kampus (SPÖ). Nevertheless, the real goal remains that no woman should ever have to move in here.