Istanbul Convention
The Istanbul Convention is a Council of Europe treaty that protects women and girls from various forms of violence. The Convention came into force in Switzerland on the 1st of April 2018. The Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE) serves as the national coordination body for its implementation. In 2022, the Swiss National Action Plan for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention established concrete measures at the federal, cantonal, and municipal levels.
Under the Istanbul Convention, violence against women and domestic violence are considered human rights violations. With its ratification of the convention, Switzerland has committed itself to preventing and combating these forms of violence.
The fields of action covered by the convention covers are prevention of violence, protection from violence, prosecution as well as comprehensive and coordinated action with the following goals:
- To prevent violence against women and domestic violence and to reduce violence.
- To ensure adequate protection and to support victims of violence.
- To prosecute violence offences and to hold perpetrators of violence accountable.
- To implement a comprehensive and coordinated strategy at all federal levels and in consultation with civil society organisations.
Coordination with the Confederation, cantons, communes and NGOs
In accordance with Article 10 of the Istanbul Convention, the FOGE coordinates the implementation of the Istanbul Convention at national level on behalf of the Federal Council.
Implementation at cantonal level is coordinated by the Swiss Conference against Domestic Violence (SKHG) on behalf of the intercantonal conferences KKJPD (Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors) and SODK (Conference of Cantonal Directors of Social Affairs).
Istanbul Convention Network brings together various umbrella and specialized organisations to represent civil society.
Detailed information on coordination and approaches can be found here:
Current status of implementation in Switzerland
National action plan
On 22 June 2022, the Federal Council adopted the National Action Plan for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention (NAP IC) 2022–2026, which aims to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence by means of 44 concrete measures implemented by the Confederation, cantons and communes. The measures focus on the following three main issues:
- Informing the public and raising public awareness
- Providing training for professional staff and volunteers
- Combating sexual and sexist violence (sexualised violence)
The interim report provides a progress report on the 44 measures of the NAP IC and sets out the points of attention for the period 2025-2026.
It was presented at the first National Dialogue on Violence, Gender and Discrimination on 25 November 2024. On this occasion, Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, surrounded by representatives of the cantons and cities, emphasised the importance of a coordinated approach to preventing and combating violence and launched an awareness-raising and education campaign, alongside other measures.
Status of implementation of the NAP IC
Reporting and recommendations
The FOGE is responsible for Switzerland’s reporting to the Council of Europe, which has an independent expert body in place, the «Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO)», to review reports and conducts country visits. The evaluation reports produced by GREVIO serve as the basis for recommendations to the Committee of the Parties..
Violence against women and domestic violence
Violence takes many forms and can affect anyone. Almost half of all violent crimes happen at home, in marriages, in partnerships and in families. Domestic violence can also affect men. However, it is more often directed against women. The same is true with regard to sexual harassment.