One in three sexual harassment cases results in fine
Only 11% of all Swiss victims report sexual harassment.
Keystone
Around 1,100 complaints of sexual harassment are filed in Switzerland every year and one-third of all cases end with fines or other punishment, a newspaper survey has found.
Compiling statistics from 24 cantons, the SonntagsZeitung External linknewspaper found that around 1,100 complaints of sexual harassment are lodged every year. Cantonal public prosecutors issued 337 sentence orders last year. National statistics are not available on this issue.
In a recent survey by the institute Marketagent published in SonntagsZeitung, 26% of Swiss residents questioned said they had been victims of sexual harassment. But only 11% of all victims report sexual harassment.
The newspaper article cited several lawyers who said this low rate is probably because of victims’ low chance of success in front of a judge or court, and because the fines handed out are low – generally several hundred francs.
The law permits fines of up to CHF10,000 francs for sexual harassment, and those receiving a fine of over CHF5,000 francs can also get a criminal record. But in practice such high fines are rare.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
The citizenship obstacle course facing spouses of Swiss Abroad
Automated driving on Swiss motorways is theoretically possible from March
This content was published on
It will be theoretically possible to hand over the steering wheel to technology but no such system has been submitted for official approval yet.
Heated atmosphere at Swiss rally against AfD politician Alice Weidel
This content was published on
Around 250 people demonstrated "against the right" and the German AfD politician Alice Weidel on Saturday afternoon in Einsiedeln.
This content was published on
The Ethos Foundation recommends that shareholders vote against all compensation-related items at the Annual General Meeting on March 7.
Top Swiss firms close to reaching gender quota in boards
This content was published on
The proportion of women on the boards of directors of the fifty largest listed companies in Switzerland currently stands at 28%.
Swiss committee wants to end government resignations during legislative term
This content was published on
Members of the Federal Council should no longer be able to leave office before the end of their term, according to a House of Representatives committee.
Parliamentarians call for action on sexual harassment
This content was published on
Voices are raised over sexual harassment in parliament after a politician is suspended from his party over stalking allegations.
This content was published on
#metoo and harcèlement (harassment) are the words of the year in German-speaking and (for the first time) French-speaking Switzerland.
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.