Concluded projects

of the Institute of Conflict Research

Victim support for senior citizens - A pilot project in a Viennese district

Project Management:	Dr.in Birgitt Haller
Financed by:	City of Vienna
Concluded in	January 2008
	German

The "White Ring", the Austrian victim protection association, was in charge of a pilot project run in one of Vienna’s largest districts at the end of 2007. Elderly women who had become crime victims received on-the-spot psychological support in order to stabilise them as quickly as possible. If required, they were also offered support for a period of a few weeks. The intervention was aimed at helping them to rapidly regain their autonomy, since the fear of another assault may lead to social isolation as well as to illness or mental problems. The support was organised by the police officers who were responsible for the criminal complaints.

The evaluation of this pilot project was performed by the IKF and consisted of interviews with the crime victims that had been cared for by the intervention team and, on the other hand, of interviews with the caring psychologists and police officers.

As the pilot project lasted only four weeks, only a small number of victims received support. But there was evidence that the victims felt stabilised by the interventions and that it was especially important for them to have somebody with whom to talk about their harmful experiences. Most victims needed support not only on-the-spot, but for a longer period. The police are interested in setting up this kind of victim support because they often feel frustrated when they are unable to provide proper support to crime victims - and especially to elderly people.