Swiss Petition Calls for CHF350 Million Investment in Women's Safety

A staggering CHF 350 million. That is the price tag placed on women’s safety by a coalition of campaigners who are done waiting for incremental change. On Monday, activists marched to the Federal Chancellery in Bern, delivering not just a petition, but a thunderous demand backed by over 21,400 signatures. This is not a polite request; it is an urgent ultimatum to the federal government to finally put its money where its mouth is.

Spearheaded by Brava—formerly Terre des Femmes—and supported by a massive alliance of over 90 NGOs, trade unions, and political parties, the petition calls for resources that match the severity of the crisis. The demand is clear: the government must allocate sufficient funds to combat gender-based violence now. Campaigners argue that the current financial commitment is woefully inadequate for the scale of the problem. This capital injection is earmarked for three critical pillars: robust protection for victims, consistent prosecution of offenders, and sweeping prevention programs. The message to Bern is unmistakable: safety costs money, and Switzerland is currently underpaying.

The statistics are grim, undeniable, and terrifying. In the first three months of 2025 alone, 11 women have been killed in Switzerland. This figure represents a shocking 100% increase compared to the same period last year. While the nation prides itself on stability, these numbers reveal a volatile reality for women behind closed doors. The fatality rate has doubled, signaling a catastrophic failure in current protective measures.

"Gender-based violence is an emergency for society as a whole," declares Brava. This is not hyperbole; it is a conclusion drawn from a body count that continues to rise. Each of these 11 deaths represents a systemic failure to intervene before it was too late. The surge in violence has shattered the illusion that existing protocols are working. Campaigners emphasize that these are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a broader societal neglect. The sharp spike in femicides in early 2025 has injected a new, desperate urgency into the political discourse, forcing lawmakers to confront a lethal trend that shows no signs of slowing down without immediate intervention.

Switzerland ratified the Istanbul Convention in 2018, a landmark commitment to preventing violence against women. Yet, seven years later, the infrastructure required to uphold this treaty remains critically fragile. Petitioners argue that the convention is currently little more than a paper shield. The reality on the ground is one of scarcity: women’s shelters are grappling with severe budget deficits, and counseling services are dangerously overstretched.

The coalition behind the petition asserts that political measures to date have been largely performative. Without the requested CHF 350 million, the implementation of the Istanbul Convention remains "inadequate." Victims seeking refuge often face closed doors due to lack of capacity, while preventative education programs are stalled by funding shortages. The disconnect between federal promises and the operational reality of NGOs is widening. Campaigners insist that women need to be heard, protected, and taken seriously—not in theory, but in practice. The lack of resources is not just an administrative oversight; it is a gap through which lives are falling.

Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider has acknowledged the crisis, stating that the federal government intends to take decisive action over the next few years. "Substantial progress is to be made by 2026," she promised in November, outlining a focus on combating causes and improving training. Additionally, a centralized, 24-hour emergency number for victims is slated to go operational in November 2025.

However, for the activists who marched on Bern this week, these timelines are agonizingly slow. With fatalities doubling right now, waiting until 2026 for "substantial progress" feels like a luxury the victims do not have. While the promise of a centralized hotline is a step forward, it is a reactive measure scheduled for late next year. The tension between the government's bureaucratic pace and the immediate, lethal reality of gender-based violence is palpable. The CHF 350 million demand is a challenge to the state: accelerate the timeline, or accept responsibility for the consequences of delay.