Dr. Rotraud A. Perner

Dr. Rotraud A. Perner (born 1944 in Orth an der Donau) is an Austrian lawyer, psychotherapist, Protestant theologian, and publicist. She became widely known to the public in the 1980s and 1990s through radio and television as a pioneer for open enlightenment and the dismantling of social taboos.

Focus & Work:
Her decades of work focus on violence prevention, victim protection, women’s rights, and conflict culture. She was instrumental in reforms to protect against domestic and sexualised violence in Austria. As a university lecturer, docent, and author of over 60 specialist and non-fiction books, she shaped key approaches in mediation, stress prevention, and salutogenesis (health promotion).

With her initiative “From Angry Citizen to Peace Agent” and the work “Peace Competence”, published jointly with her son Roman Perner, she actively advocates for resilience, dialogue skills, and a non-violent, constructive coexistence in everyday life.