More protection against domestic violence

Men account for 90 per cent of cases of domestic violence Keystone

Parliament has approved regulations to combat domestic violence, notably improving protection for women in marital disputes.

Under the amended law, violent spouses can be ordered to leave their homes as a temporary measure and stalking will become a punishable offence.

But in a vote on Tuesday the House of Representatives followed the Senate in ruling out the creation of counselling services for victims and perpetrators.

Justice Minister Christoph Blocher said mandatory counselling centres were tantamount to an infringement on cantonal sovereignty.

Several cantonal authorities already offer such a service in cooperation with private institutions.

Members of the centre-left Social Democratic Party and the Green Party in parliament had argued that counselling could help prevent domestic violence and thus save lives.

Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, the key promoter of the amendment six years ago, said men – who commit most acts of violence – needed help and often didn’t know where to turn to.

Family murders

Tuesday’s decisions, to be confirmed in a final reading of the bill next week, come amid concerns by Amnesty International that there is a severe shortage of beds in refuges for battered women.

It called for more trained social workers and more effort to work with people who commit acts of violence.

A recent study found that family murders account for more than half of all homicides in Switzerland.

However experts say it is not possible to say what is behind the upsurge in family killings.

In the latest such incident in the capital Bern, a man attacked his wife at the weekend and killed their two children before turning the gun on himself.

A similar case in April involved the family of the former ski star, Corinne Rey-Bellet, who was murdered by her estranged husband.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

Last year 40 people died in family killings in Switzerland, according to Amnesty International.
One in five women in Switzerland falls victim at least once in her life to domestic violence – including threats, blackmail, beatings and sexual violence.
Family killings account for 58% of all murders in Switzerland, compared with 20% in the US, according to the Swiss National Science Foundation.

In brief

Rape among married couples only became a punishable offence in 1993.

Until 2004 violence in partnerships could only be prosecuted if charges were filed by the victims.

Since April 2004 prosecutors have brought proceedings against perpetrators even without the victim’s consent.