Anti-discrimination 2.1.2 Discrimination on the grounds of gender Lecture series on protection of women against violence Women often appear to be reluctant to defend themselves or contact complaints offices when they are subjected to unfair treatment or experience discrimination. That is how the numbers of complaints to the AOB can be interpreted: around a third less women than men approach the AOB. The AOB will try to counter this and seek to achieve a balanced gender distribution of complaints through projects that are specially directed towards women. This should help to give women the confidence to contact institutions providing legal protection such as the AOB and demand their rights in cases of violence, discrimination and any other type of violation of their rights. In the year under review, the AOB took part in a lecture series on the topic of the protection of women against violence. AOB wants to reach more women Every fifth woman in Austria experiences physical and/or sexual violence, but only a few women know to whom they can turn for protection. In situations where people are dependent on the help and support of others, for instance in cases of poverty, old age, disability and when receiving care, protection against violence is an important topic for women in particular. In order to actively counter the taboo status and trivialisation of the topic, the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna has been organising the interdisciplinary lecture series “One in five” in cooperation with the Austrian Women’s Shelter Network for several years. In the year under review, the AOB took part as co-organiser and contributor for the first time. AOB takes part in lecture series The series of lectures is intended to be a preventive measure. To increase awareness for the different types of violence against women, experts discussed the topic taking different areas of life and society into consideration at the beginning of the lecture series. A detailed insight into the background, causes and consequences of the complex topic of “Violence against women” was offered on a total of seven lecture days. With regard to topics such as “Particularly vulnerable women”, “Fleeing and human trafficking”, “The penal system and the protection of women”, the experts from the AOB discussed with students and practical experts how the AOB can provide help and support and contribute to solving structural problems. The participation of the AOB in this event will hopefully make a contribution to enabling more women to contact the AOB in the future and more attention will be given to specific women’s problems. 39