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Government welcomes improved reporting on sexual harassment

Women entering a lift with three men
Sexual harassment is widespread in the public space but exact figures on the number of cases are not available, according to the govenrment. © Keystone/Gaetan Bally

Sexual harassment is widespread in Switzerland but reliable data about unwanted behaviour is not available, according to an expert report.

Women are the victims in nine out of ten cases most cases of harassment and incidents occur mainly in the public space, but children and teenagers are increasingly attacked on the internet.

The study, which was commissioned by the government, found that statistical data on sexual harassment is insufficient.

The main reasons are differences in the definition of harassment, the limited number of incidents reported to police as well as a lack of awareness of the issue among police and justice authorities, the experts said.

The Swiss government said it approved the reportExternal link on Wednesday, saying it supported efforts to improve the situation.

It added that it adopted a report last year setting out an agenda to prevent escalating violence against women.

Scandals about abuse and sexual harassment in sports and at the workplace have raised public attention to the issue. International data also found an increase in cases of bullying in schools.

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