“It’s about nothing less than life and death”

In December, Juso placed a bed on the Bundesplatz. It was meant to symbolize the lack of beds in the women’s shelters. How tense is the situation right now?
Marlies Haller: All. Many women’s shelters are full. The specialist advisers are taking longer and longer to find a place for those affected. In the canton of Bern, women and children even have to be temporarily accommodated in a hotel. And the number of calls to the AppElle hotline is increasing.

How do you explain that so many women are currently seeking protection?
Haller: I can only guess. On the one hand, the number of unreported cases of domestic violence is very high, estimated at 80 percent. The women’s shelters show only the tip of the iceberg. We have also seen an enormous increase in questions from victim support centers in recent years. Factors contributing to this are probably the discussions about the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and the various women’s movements. These have raised awareness of domestic and sexual violence against women and hopefully motivate those affected to seek help. Nowadays it is better known that the Victim Support Act, the women’s shelters and advice centers are there for everyone and are free and that help is available regardless of whether a complaint is made. It is also conceivable that the women who were better controlled during the pandemic are now seeking help.
Anna Tanner: Another assumption is that the current situation in society as a whole causes stress with inflation. And stressful situations often lead to more pressure and violence at home.

What are the consequences of the high occupancy rate in the women’s shelters for those seeking protection?
browner: Once we offer women a place outside of a women’s shelter, they are even more reluctant to leave the house. In addition: Especially in a crisis situation and when children are involved, it is actually crucial that we, as an intramural institution, can make a first crisis intervention. Consider, for example, a security investigation or the proper documentation of violence. Due to the scarce resources, advice and support is sometimes only possible to a limited extent.

What do you say to victims of domestic violence who are hesitant to seek help because of this?
browner: You must report anyway, that is very important. We always find a solution, even if it may not be the solution we want to offer right away. But any woman who calls will receive expert advice from a specialist 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I encourage all those affected and their families to seek help.
Haller: There are no rejections at women’s shelters. There is always a way. It would be all the more important for the state to provide sufficient resources and financing, which is not the case now. It is true that we have made a lot of progress at the federal level in terms of prevention and awareness-raising. But at the base, i.e. in victim support centers and women’s shelters, which are necessary to accommodate this development, there is no longer any investment. That does not work. Moreover, the Victim Support Act is applied differently from canton to canton. The facilities for women and children seeking help are not the same everywhere. This is problematic.

What do you think should happen?
Haller: We need more places, more money – and more data: in Switzerland there are hardly any studies on domestic violence. We have no statistics on femicide, nor a clear definition of it. Equality for all genders is essential in the long term. Because domestic and sexual violence has a lot to do with structural inequality and power.
browner: It must be in the public interest that we can provide assistance quickly and efficiently. This not only mitigates developmental difficulties in children and young people and also prevents them from becoming victims and perpetrators later on. It would rather be possible to support someone so that the situation does not get so bad that the woman in question loses her job and then has to receive social assistance benefits. It is also important that people recognize what we do with our work in the women’s shelters and the victim support centers: we try to prevent femicide. This is more difficult if we don’t have enough resources and therefore can’t react quickly enough. It is therefore nothing less than life and death.