Almost half of children in Switzerland experience domestic violence

Child Protection Switzerland not only wants to anchor the right to a non-violent upbringing in the Civil Code (staged photo) Keystone / Steffen Schmidt

Almost 50% of all children in Switzerland experience physical or psychological violence at home, according to an annual survey conducted by the University of Fribourg on behalf of Child Protection Switzerland.

Smacking on the bottom was the most common use of violence, with around 14% of 1,013 parents admitting they smacked their children. About 11% of parents had pushed their child as a punishment, and about 5% of parents had shaken their child, Child Protection Switzerland said in a statementExternal link on Monday.

Shaking a child as a punishment is very concerning for child and youth psychiatrist Oliver Bilke-Hensch. “This can significantly damage a toddler’s brain and an infant’s body,” he told Swiss public television, SRFExternal link. “We don’t want to offset that against slapping a 16-year-old in the face, but the damage is certainly great.”

Psychological punishment is being used increasingly often, the survey shows. Almost 30% of the parents surveyed said they had hurt their children with words or yelled insults at them. Around 12% of parents had humiliated or ridiculed their child.

Child Protection Switzerland not only wants to anchor the right to a non-violent upbringing in the Civil Code, but is also fighting against a violent childhood with awareness campaigns and prevention measures.

The annual parent survey shows awareness is increasing. Five years ago 46% of parents who used corporal punishment had a guilty conscience; today the figure is 77%.