After the violent death of one 13-year-old girl in Vienna-Donaustadt, asylkoordination Österreich, the Association of Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters and ZARA (civil courage & anti-racism work) made a joint statement on Thursday: They demand, among other things, that the “racist diversionary maneuvers” be stopped. Effective measures against the increasing number of femicides are finally needed.
Some political actors would “start an asylum debate” and also stir up “generalized, racist prejudices” against 40,000 people of Afghan origin living in Austria. The killing of a young woman would be politically instrumentalized and, in addition, a heavily racist attack would be launched on a population group that cannot defend itself against it – “that is disrespectful and reprehensible”.
Furthermore, deportation cannot be a punishment: It would be unconstitutional to deport people to Afghanistan on the basis of a conviction in the ongoing proceedings – a country in which death or torture would be threatened. The three organizations demand the stop of deportations to Afghanistan, the immediate expansion of contact points for victims of violence, more resources for prevention, and an end to the racist blanket condemnations by politicians and the media.
Kurz sees perpetrator-victim reversal
Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) has sharply rejected the accusations of the NGOs and, for his part, accused the asylum coordination, the Association of Autonomous Women’s Shelters and ZARA of perpetrator-victim reversal. He was “shocked” by the attitude of the NGOs, who had described the discussion about foreign offenders as a “racist diversionary maneuver”.
“There are truths that have to be spoken and I will continue to utter them and not go back to business. There is not a single excuse or excuse that justifies this bestial act. Therefore, I once again defend myself against any form of perpetrator-victim reversal and misunderstood tolerance, “Kurz said in a statement.
He also clearly rejected the NGO’s demand to stop deportation to Afghanistan. “It has to be deported more and not less, especially when it comes to asylum seekers who have committed criminal offenses,” said Kurz, who points out that, according to the security report (2019), Afghan citizens are the largest group of foreign perpetrators of sexual offenses in Austria. “To speak of a ‘racist diversion’ is a mockery of the victims and a slap in the face of the bereaved. I deeply reject that.”
