Child custody to be shared between parents
Parents should in future have joint custody of their children, the cabinet has decided. One parent will be favoured only when it involves the protection of the child.
“We’re thus introducing equal rights to the issue of custody,” said Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga on Thursday. This had been demanded above all by fathers.
Currently, when a couple divorces, one parent generally gets sole custody. If the couple are not married, the mother is the legal custodian. Joint custody is at the moment only possible if both parties sign an agreement on alimony and childcare.
Possible reasons in future for the withdrawal of parental rights include inexperience, disease, infirmity, violence or absence.
Sommaruga’s proposal was welcomed by all political parties as well as men’s and fathers’ associations.
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