Institutions for persons with disabilities Since 2012 commissions have been regularly highlighting that persons with disabilities are at a greater risk of being subjected to violence due to their vulnerability. The NPM reported last year about the representative results of a study on violence experienced by persons in facilities for persons with disabilities. According to the study, almost eight out of ten of the persons with disabilities interviewed had experienced violence and four out of ten had been subjected to severe violence. One out of ten persons had been subjected to serious physical violence in the last three years, whereby the risk is particularly high for persons with increased assistance needs, for example, with body hygiene. Analysis shows that this is attributable to care-relevant types of violence. More than eight out of ten persons with disabilities had experienced emotional violence in their lives. The study also identifies a wide range of risk and protection factors specifically for girls, women and men. Analyses show amongst others that there are reports of experiencing violence far more frequently in institutions with fewer care staff. If there is little time for person-centred care, the risk of violence is evidently high. Violence prevention measures more important than ever Particularly important for preventing violence are social contacts, trusted persons, person-centred care concepts and support forms that enable the cared for persons to participate in and lead a self-determined life. Most of the risk factors identified in the study increased during the lockdown. The commissions did not observe a significant increase in incidents of violence on their monitoring visits; however, the reduction in risk factors in “normal times” shall be pushed more fervently in the future in order to be better prepared for emergency situations. The fatal consequences of failing to implement universal preventive measures were evident in a facility in Carinthia that was visited by Commission 3. At the time of the visit, the facility was in the process of learning from a case of severe abuse of a female resident. A mentally impaired woman was sexually abused by her caregiver for more than ten years. Only after he had gone into retirement did she find the courage to report the attacks. The commission was told that the atmosphere in the facility had been one of fear. Both residents and the staff were terrified of the former manageress who was also the partner of the perpetrator. The operator of the facility explained that the reason why the abuse had gone on for so long unnoticed was the decentralised location and the structures in the facility, which had made detecting crimes difficult. Years of sexual abuse by caregiver The perpetrator has since been convicted. It is praiseworthy that after the abuse was reported the facility acted immediately and is now undergoing a revised staff and conceptual orientation. In addition to this, the NPM is of 98