Victims of domestic violence to get better protection

One in five Swiss women are victims of domestic violence Keystone

The Swiss parliament is pressing ahead with plans to combat domestic violence. Under the proposal, aggressors could be forced to hand in the key to their homes.

The House of Representatives agreed to draft a law, which aims at better protection of victims of domestic violence and their children. Surveys show one in five women suffer from mental or physical violence in a relationship.

Under current Swiss law, aggressors can only be detained for 24 hours, and afterwards they are free to go wherever they want. Parliamentarian, Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, called on the House to crack down on domestic violence.

She wants to enable police to hold perpetrators for several weeks and to ban them from their homes and families until a suitable solution is found for both the victims and the aggressors, who are mostly men.

Vermot-Mangold rejected objections by opponents, who argue a new law on domestic violence would pave the way for state interference in a citizen’s privacy.

“Violence can never be private. It has to be a concern of society, and society has to propose measures against domestic violence,” she told swissinfo.

Vermot-Mangold hopes Switzerland will follow the example of Austria, which introduced similar measures four years ago. She said the law led to a greater number of cases being reported and increased public awareness of the issue.

swissinfo with agencies