FH OÖ’s Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

What is violence?

Violence derives from the middle high German word “waltan”, which means “to control” or “be strong”. The term violence is in general understood to mean an action or structure that results in physical and/or psychological harm or the threat of such damage.

If there is a threat or subjugation or physical and/or psychological coercion of persons, or if animals or things are deliberately and intentionally harmed, this is called violence.

It cannot be clearly stated how violence arises. Some theories take experiences of family violence, social disadvantages, poor future prospects, general developmental problems, or intensive media use into account when it comes to violent actions and behavior.

Identify motives for violence

The motives for violence can be diverse. In many cases, violence serves to exploit an imbalance in a relationship or to prove one’s power. For many young people, the search for (social) recognition is the decisive factor for violent acts. The attempt to gain respect from other people or groups is meant to strengthen one’s self-esteem and often leads to violence.

Compensation for negative feelings such as fear, anger, envy, offenses, etc can also lead to feeling threatened or provoked, especially in stressful situations. People who have rather low self-esteem, cannot recognize coping strategies, or have a low frustration tolerance, often try to compensate for these feelings with aggressive behavior.

Peer pressure and boredom often play a significant role in an already violent environment. For some people, violent activities represent a change in everyday life or a thrill. Often people are only fellow travelers of larger groups. Out of fear of becoming a victim themselves and the desire to belong, they submit to the opinion of the group.

Identify Forms of Violence

Violence is very wide-ranging, diverse and can take on different forms. Generally, it is divided into personal and structural violence. Personal violence is expressed in physical and mental violence by individual perpetrators. In contrast, structural violence encompasses social conditions and does not originate from other individuals. Forms of violence, including physical violence, psychological violence, sexual violence, and economic violence, are described in more detail below:

Resources for victims of violence

If you are at risk of violence yourself or know that another person is at risk of violence, call for help. The following services can support you and other people.

Online Women’s Counseling Upper Austria: Online counseling is free of charge and confidential. First, you need to register on the website and then you can use your online mailbox for counseling. You will receive a reply within 48 hours on working days. In acute crises, it is best to contact the women’s helpline, telephone counseling, or crisis support.

Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters: If you are being abused or feel threatened, you can turn to the women’s shelter. In the help chat  you can get online counselling and exchange information with other affected women (page translation to English and other languages available).

Women’s shelter Linz (+43 732 60 67 00): The women’s shelter offers protection, safety, and accommodation by providing a place to live as well as free, anonymous advice, also for women who do not live in the women’s shelter.

At Violence is never ok! affected children and young people as well as their caretakers can find information and support.

Verein Spektrum (+43 7235 659 69): The association in Gallneukirchen offers free and confidential counseling by appointment.

Center for Family Therapy and Men’s Counseling: The center offers support for problems with partners and/or families, professional overload and violence.

Violence (in the family) is a very widespread, and therefore very big, problem in Austria. However, due to the close relationship between perpetrators and victims, it is not always easy to help. The violent persons often have a lot of power, so it is very difficult for the victims to free themselves from violent relationships. That is why outside help is particularly important.

Here are a few tips on what outsiders can do if they notice or learn about violent acts against other people:

The 18th Diversity Talk at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria was held by Mag.a Eva Schuh from the Violence Protection Center Upper Austria on the topic “Violence in the social environment – Still Not an Isolated Case. Causes and Actions.”

Violence in close social relationships is a sad reality for more than one-third of all women in Austria who are in a relationship. Additionally, 28% of men experience violence in their living environment, and 92% of all violent acts are committed by men. It is therefore evident that violence in relationships and partnerships is predominantly a male issue. The campaign “Men Speak Up” highlights what men can do to combat this, while the Diversity Talk thoroughly explored the options available for those affected by violence (women) and compared relevant laws in other countries (e.g., Spain, Switzerland).

Since experiences of violence are often accompanied by great shame, we are making the Diversity Talk available, as always, to employees via the intranet and, for the first time, also to students, part-time lecturers, and other interested parties on our Kompass page. In the hope that many people affected by violence will dare to break the silence as early as possible. Because violence can happen to anyone, and you are never to blame!

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