Coercion still an issue in Swiss welfare system, report finds
A May 2023 poster publicising canton Bern’s “Cedar” project, which aimed to highlight the fates of those affected by coercive state welfare measures last century.
Keystone / Anthony Anex
The rights of people in vulnerable situations are still sometimes disregarded within the Swiss welfare system, a national research programme has found.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
While there have been developments in child and adult protection measures in recent decades, these have only been partially implemented in practice, according to the final report of the Swiss National Science Foundation’s (SNSF) ‘Welfare and Coercion’ National Research Programme (NRP 76), published on Thursday.
The project concluded that there was still a lot of work to be done, particularly around the participation of those affected. It said that legitimised measures were still associated with coercion in certain situations and cantonal disparities also led to legal inequalities.
The Swiss social welfare system still bears the legacy of compulsory measures and forced placements which affected hundreds of thousands in the 20th century, the SNSF said in a press release.
However, the report, in which some 150 researchers participated, also found that improvements had been made in many areas, particularly when it came to best interests of children involved.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kp,dos
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Switzerland no longer wants to foot the bill for ‘suicide tourism’
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
Swiss diocese introduces code of conduct to tackle church abuse
This content was published on
The Diocese of Sion has introduced a code of conduct to tackle all forms of church-related abuse. A prevention commission has also been established.
Women are the victims of most domestic shootings in Switzerland
This content was published on
Between 2015 and 2022, only one of the 41 perpetrators of domestic gun homicides was female. The vast majority of these cases were femicides.
Swiss army to invest in military equipment and decommission Patrouille Suisse jets
This content was published on
The Swiss army is set to spend CHF1.5 billion on new armaments. The 2025 Armed Forces Dispatch also plans to decommission the current Patrouille Suisse.
Geneva report urges ICJ action against Nicaragua for ‘repression’
This content was published on
International investigators in Geneva have accused Nicaragua's regime of possible crimes against humanity, urging the country be brought before the ICJ.
Swiss defence ministry files criminal complaint over resignation leaks
This content was published on
The Swiss defence ministry has filed a criminal complaint after leaks about the resignations of the army and intelligence chiefs.
WHO’s global lab network faces collapse without new funding
This content was published on
As measles cases surge in Texas, Geneva-based WHO warns its largest global laboratory network is on the brink of collapse unless new funding is secured.
Charges dropped in Geneva parcel bomb investigation
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) is looking to drop the case against two brothers linked to the Geneva parcel bomb incidents.
German and Swiss men arrested in Zurich cocaine raid
This content was published on
Swiss police seized four kilos of cocaine and over CHF100,000 in cash from two suspected drug dealers in Schlieren, near Zurich.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.