Swiss Solidarity donations to tackle child abuse top CHF4 million

More than 4 million francs donated for abused children Keystone-SDA

Swiss Solidarity, the humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), has raised over CHF4 million ($4.3 million) in a solidarity campaign for abused children. Donations collected between December 16-20 will be invested in Switzerland, the Sahel and South Asia.

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The solidarity campaignExternal link, which ended at 7 pm on Friday, raised CHF4.027 million in donations, Swiss Solidarity said in a press release on Friday evening. Some 190 well-known personalities took part in more than 70 hours of live coverage on SBC media channels and platforms.

In the 9th addition of the campaign, the charity’s aim was to raise awareness of all forms of child abuse, including physical, sexual and psychological violence.

In Switzerland, part of the money raised will be used to provide emergency shelters and support for children who have been abused, noted the press release. Donations will also be used to prevent violence by supporting vulnerable families.

In the Sahel and South Asia, donations will be used to protect children from abuse, early marriage and child labour. They will also be used to help children go to school.

Child abuse is an alarming reality in Switzerland, according to Swiss Solidarity. Every year, thousands of children are subjected to violence and abuse. Often isolated, the youngest children are particularly vulnerable, and there are not enough facilities to protect them.

Donations for this initiative External linkare still possible until the end of the year, according to the press release. Last year, the solidarity campaign raised CHF5.4 million for children and young people deprived of access to education.

Swiss Solidarity is the humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company.

Translated from French by DeepL/jdp

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