Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
Today’s headlines offer little comfort. New figures published by the Federal Statistical Office show a sharp rise in the prison population. Swiss prisons are now operating at 97% capacity.
One can lament this or note that, unlike in many other countries, Swiss prisons are not yet overcrowded.
Last year, the Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of Trafficking (FIZ) supported 228 victims of human trafficking. The number has been rising for years. A particularly severe case came before the courts today.
Cases involving the trafficking of women are increasing – partly because awareness has grown and more cases are being reported. But the figures also suggest that the number of unreported cases remains high, Fanie Wirth of FIZ told Swiss public broadcaster SRF. “The victims range from very young women to those over 60 – and they come from more than 80 countries,” she explained.
A striking number of victims come from Eastern Europe, particularly Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. To improve the situation, Wirth argues that women’s dependence on traffickers must be reduced, for example by creating more legal opportunities for sex work.
A 33-year-old Hungarian woman appeared before Zurich District Court today charged with human trafficking and promoting prostitution. She is alleged to have forced women into sex work over several years.
According to the prosecution, the women were housed in hotels in Zurich’s Langstrasse district and monitored around the clock. They were beaten, dragged by the hair and severely threatened if they failed to meet earnings targets.
They were also allegedly forced to engage in unprotected sex, resulting in numerous unwanted pregnancies, abortions and sexually transmitted diseases. A verdict will be delivered at a later date.
Housing costs, health insurance premiums and fuel prices: Switzerland’s middle class is under growing financial pressure.
Many middle-class households are no longer able to cover an unexpectedly high bill at short notice. “A trip to the seaside is no longer possible even for some middle-class people,” budget adviser Philipp Frei told Swiss public broadcaster SRF, referring to a recent Federal Statistical Office (FSO) analysis. “It creates enormous pressure when you suddenly can no longer afford things that used to be normal. You can spend your holidays at home, although that is not free either.”
According to Deloitte’s “Global Gen Z and Millennial” study, more than half of young people in Switzerland are worried about their financial situation. Monthly living costs are a particular burden: 30% of Generation Z and 33% of Millennials said rising costs were their greatest concern – ahead of climate change, health or crime.
More than half live from paycheck to paycheck because their income is immediately absorbed by ongoing expenses. While young people in other countries often take on side jobs to earn extra income, Deloitte says this remains relatively uncommon in Switzerland. A survey by 20 Minuten found that only 16% of respondents currently have a “side hustle”, though another 14% are considering one.
Never before have so many people been incarcerated in Swiss prisons. This is shown by the Swiss Criminal Convictions Statistics 2025 published today.
Last year Swiss judicial authorities recorded 111,962 adult convictions in the criminal register. The most common sanction was a suspended monetary penalty. The number of short, non-suspended prison sentences fell to an all-time low.
Nevertheless, prisons reached a record occupancy rate of 97%. On January 31 of this year, 7,119 people were imprisoned in Switzerland. The country’s 90 prisons have a total of 7,373 places.
In 2,272 cases, deportation orders were issued. This figure has remained stable in recent years. Convictions for violent offences have generally declined over time. Last year, there were 7,594 such convictions. Just over 3,000 offences were committed by Swiss citizens and more than 4,300 by foreign nationals.
The cardiac surgery scandal at Zurich University Hospital is widening. The controversial Cardioband devices were also used at Bern’s Inselspital, as well as in Lucerne and Lugano.
According to an investigation published last week, around 70 avoidable deaths occurred at Zurich University Hospital between 2016 and 2020. Serious management failures by the then head of department, Francesco Maisano, were identified. He had developed the Cardioband device while holding a financial interest in it, despite repeated severe complications linked to its use. The artificial ring was designed to repair leaking heart valves.
Yesterday, the NZZ am Sonntag reported that the method had also been used in 36 cases at Bern’s Inselspital and twice in Lucerne. Bern now plans to investigate the cases more closely. No specific treatment-related complications are currently known. In Lugano, Cardioband remains one of the methods still offered.
Coincidentally, during the same week the scandal became public, the Swiss government also presented proposals aimed at tightening the rules. Doctors using certain medical products should be free from financial incentives and guided solely by medical considerations.
Translated using AI/amva/ts
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