OPEN RESEARCH BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Methodology
This project was based on a strong participatory approach and is designed
to involve relevant stakeholders from the very beginning. This includes
persons who are not necessarily frequently part of research processes like
experts by experience, in concrete persons concerned and their relatives.
Experts by experience were an integral part of the research project and
co-designed the project methodology and outcomes.
This report is mainly compiling the research findings from Austria, Germany and Italy. Due to the different systems, the possibilities to access
institutions and carry out the research varied between the three countries.
The following graph illustrates which areas are covered by this report:
Country
Preventive
custodial
measure
Preventive
detention
Compulsory
withdrawal
treatment
Austria13
sec 21(1) CC;
Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
sec 21(2) CC;
Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
sec 22 CC;
Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
Germany14
sec 63 CC;
Ministries of Health16
(MoH)
sec 66 CC;
Ministries of Health16
(MoH)
sec 64 CC;
Ministries of Health16
(MoH)
Italy15
sec 199 to 222 CC;
Ministries of Health
(MoH)
sec 199 to 222 CC;
Ministries of Health
(MoH)
not
applicable
Each national partner organisation undertook desk research to understand better the situation of persons with intellectual and psychosocial
disabilities who were deprived of liberty during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research addressed the situation in closed institutions between March
2020 and February 2021. In Austria and Germany, surveys were sent to the
persons concerned and their relatives in September 2020.17 In Italy, visits
to prisons and REMs were carried out. Partners in each country further
conducted qualitative interviews with practitioners, including facility management, lawyers, representatives of monitoring bodies and extramural
facilities.18 In parallel, national workshops took place in Austria and Germany to further discuss the preliminary findings and recommendations.19
The findings were collected in national memos.20
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