18 women were killed this year in Austria alone by their close (ex) partners or locals (source: Autonome Frauenhäuser). This sad statistic shows that partner violence is unfortunately still a problem in this country. The project “StoP – districts without partner violence” focuses on active neighborhood work to prevent violence against women. With well-known testimonials, attention was drawn to numerous posters in and around Lehen. The most creative highlight: Plaques on park benches.

Consultation hours, get-togethers, awareness-raising
“The central approach of StoP is to actively involve the neighborhood and to sensitize people not to turn a blind eye to violence in their own environment. Women’s tables have been held regularly since December and since June there has been a free consultation at the violence protection center for victims of violence every 1st Thursday of the month,” explains StoP initiator Andrea Hohenwarter from the BWS Lehen.

Part of #violencefreecity
“The StoP project is an important component of the ‘non-violent city of Salzburg’. I am very proud that Salzburg is one of the first municipalities to actively run the project. This is how the gap between protection against violence and the community is closed in the best possible way,” Anja Hagenauer, city councilor for social affairs, is convinced.

Plaques with a QR code on ten park benches in Lehen
The initiative also receives support from Deputy Mayor Barbara Unterkofler. The employees of the city gardens have put a plaque on ten park benches in Lehen. “Interested passers-by can access the StoP page using a QR code and can get help directly or find out more about partner violence. This is a low-threshold method of generating attention for this topic in public space and I am of course happy to support it,” says Unterkofler.