Upper Austria-wide

Young refugees must attend anti-violence training

Fighting conflicts with knives is not one of our values.

(Bild: Oliver Berg)

From the fall, underage, unaccompanied asylum seekers in Upper Austria will have to attend mandatory workshops on values and rules as part of their basic care. Social work professionals from the Neustart association teach them these with the aim of ensuring that they resolve disputes as non-violently as possible in future.

It was the riots on Halloween night 2022 in Linz, which were mainly caused by young migrants, that set alarm bells ringing for many citizens. The law enforcement agencies, politicians and the judiciary also had to admit that massive problems had built up in Upper Austria in the areas of integration and youth crime. Of the 154 rioters identified, 100 were minors or underage and 96 of the 154 were not Austrian.

Clear expectations
Unaccompanied minor refugees (UMF) are seen as a particular problem area. Integration Councillor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP) now wants to focus on this group and order mandatory anti-violence training for them from October, which will be carried out by the Neustart association. "We have clear expectations of people who come to us for support," he says: "Learning German, accepting our rules, norms and values. We have to teach asylum seekers this as quickly as possible, especially those who are very likely to be granted asylum status."

Facts about Neustart

The Neustart association has been carrying out justice-related social work since 1957. One focus is on the resocialization of offenders, prevention and support for victims. Its activities include probation assistance, anti-violence training, de-radicalization measures, violence prevention, the supervision of electronically monitored house arrest, as well as trial support for victims of crime.

Neustart operates throughout Austria, with five locations in Upper Austria. The association carries out anti-violence training on behalf of the Department of Integration.

Since September 2021, Neustart has also been carrying out mandatory violence prevention counseling after the police have issued a no-entry and no-approach order. This is done on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 2023, there were almost 2,200 people assigned to this service area in Upper Austria.

140 underage refugees
Upper Austria is the first federal state in which compulsory values courses and anti-violence training for UMF are now mandatory. "We currently have 140 unaccompanied refugees, and training for the first 56 young people from Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Somalia and Turkey will start in the fall," confirms Hattmannsdorfer.

Anti-violence workshops are planned in Linz, Wels and Gallneukirchen. These are to be seen as an initial spark. The young people involved are between 14 and 18 years old.

Josef Landerl, Leiter des Vereins Neustart OÖ 

Under the title "Project Respect", social workers try to teach the migrants what is allowed and what is punishable in Austria. "In workshops, they learn how to live together in a non-violent and respectful manner and new alternative courses of action in the event of conflict," says Josef Landerl, head of Neustart Upper Austria. "We ask questions and work with group dynamics," explains trainer Felix Petter. Initially, nine hours are scheduled per person.