Swiss campaign tackles abuse against women and LGBTQIA+ victims

Many protests have been staged in Switzerland to draw attention to violence against women. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi

A two-week campaign in Switzerland called “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence” aims to draw attention to widespread psychological violence against women and LGBTQIA+ people, which can have serious and even fatal consequences. 

Insults, humiliation, threats, harassment and control: these are all forms of psychological violence, explains the feminist peace NGO FriedaExternal link as the campaignExternal link was launched on Saturday.

+ The human suffering behind domestic abuse statistics

Violence is often subtle and invisible from the outside. It is part of the spiral of domestic violence and constitutes the most widespread form in couple relationships.

According to the NGO, more than 40% of women in Europe are affected by experiences of psychological violence. And 20% of women have been victims of obsessive harassment at least once in their life. Finally, 60% of LGBTQIA+ people have experienced harassment.

The lack of equality between men and women and patriarchal power structures are the breeding ground for gender violence and have the effect of minimising and trivialising it, particularly psychological violence, according to the NGO.

In Switzerland, psychological violence remains difficult to identify and recognise for people who are victims of it. Often in situations of doubt, denigration and isolation, victims who manage to seek professional help encounter additional obstacles. Indeed, psychological violence does not constitute a criminal offence in itself.

The awareness campaign, which lasts more than two weeks, is being coordinated for the first time throughout Switzerland. More than 250 organisations participate in demonstrations and actions.

If the campaign is primarily aimed at women and LGBTQIA+ people, who are the main victims of this violence, it does not aim to deny the existence of less common violence against men. However, 83% of victims are women, leading the campaign to reflect on violence specifically linked to gender inequalities.

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