Open research behind closed doors - Offene Forschung hinter verschlossenen Türen

The Ludwig Boltzmann describes the project, in which the Faculty of Applied Social Studies is involved, as follows:

"The Covid-19 pandemic has had an immense impact on the lives of millions of people; likewise, and in particular, on the lives of people in prisons. People with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities who are deprived of their liberty are in a particularly vulnerable situation, as they are overrepresented in prisons and "disproportionately affected due to the attitudinal, environmental and institutional barriers reproduced in the wake of Covid-19 regulations", as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) emphasizes.

This project of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights (BIM) is carried out in cooperation with partner organizations from Austria, Italy and Germany.

It aims to understand and highlight the challenges faced during the Covid-19 pandemic by persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities who are detained or accommodated due to their criminal behavior and/or after exclusion of criminal responsibility. Specifically, the project aims to develop recommendations on how the situation of people in detention can be improved during pandemics. At the same time, it aims to raise awareness of the issue among the public and relevant stakeholders."

Further information on the project website.