Country Profile Switzerland

General Country Information

Summary

There is no national women’s helpline in Switzerland, and support is provided by the helplines of women-only shelters and victim aid services. There are 23 women-only shelters with 462 beds accessible to women. In Switzerland, there are 24 women’s centres supporting survivors of violence, as well as one rape crisis centre, around 60 sexual violence referral centres, and two crisis/medical services for survivors of sexualised violence. Switzerland has a National Action Plan on the implementation of the Istanbul Convention for the period 2022–2026, which includes provisions on primary prevention. The state does not collect data on women’s specialist services. The Federal Statistical Office compiles statistics on victim assistance, while the umbrella organisation of women’s shelters in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (Dachorganisation der Frauenhäuser Schweiz und Liechtenstein, DAO) collects data from its members.

Women’s Specialist Services

Switzerland does not currently have a state-wide women’s helpline; the introduction of a national 24-hour helpline is planned for May 2026, with implementation left to the individual cantons. Therefore, currently, the country does not meet the Istanbul Convention standards for the provision of a national women’s helpline. Some cantons are considering cooperation with Helping Hand (Dargebotene Hand), a helpline providing emotional first aid by trained volunteers, though it is not specialised in violence-related issues. At present, support is provided through a range of helplines belonging to women’s shelters and victim aid services. Victim aid helplines are available to all genders and for all types of survivors, but they only function during office hours. Outside of these hours, support is mostly provided by helplines operated by women’s shelters. However, not every canton has a women’s shelter helpline.

Switzerland has 23 women-only shelters with a total of 462 beds. All shelters provide 24/7 access; while not all have a night team on-site, they maintain at least an on-call availability. Women are generally not expected to pay for accommodation if the survivor meets the criteria for victim aid, meaning the case involves domestic violence and a risk of danger. Costs are covered in line with the subsidiarity principle of victim aid law: if no other resources are available, victim aid covers all costs. Emergency assistance (Soforthilfe) ensures that all costs are covered for the first 35 days, after which financial support can be extended depending on the survivor’s situation. Women-only shelters and counselling centres often help to facilitate this process to ensure swift and uncomplicated support. On average, women can stay in women-only shelters for up to three months, but in practice, there is no strict limit if the situation requires a longer stay, though cantonal practices differ. Victim aid services fund the initial 35 days of emergency assistance, and longer-term assistance can usually be approved. In 2024, survivors stayed in the shelters on average 49 days. Women-only shelters provide a range of in-house services, including casework, counselling and psychological support, legal advice, practical advice, as well as referrals and collaboration with other services.

Most women-only shelters in Switzerland can accommodate women with uncertain residence permits and undocumented women, refugee women, homeless women and women with older sons. Some can be accessed by and are accessible to women with physical, cognitive and/or sensory disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, older women, transgender women and women with children with disabilities. There is only one shelter equipped to support unaccompanied girls under the age of 18, the Mädchenhaus Zürich. The NGO FIZ (Fachstelle Frauenhandel und Frauenmigration) in Zurich has eight shelters for all survivors of trafficking.

Women-only shelters in Switzerland receive funding from state contributions from cantonal or local authorities, though the level of funding varies significantly between regions. Most shelters receive basic or project-based funding, but they are often also reliant on other income sources such as donations. Only three women-only shelters are adequately funded by the public sector. The majority of shelters in the country are run by women’s associations or foundations with a gender-specific or feminist approach, including the women-only shelters and the one girls’ shelter that are members of the national umbrella organisation Dachorganisation der Frauenhäuser der Schweiz und Liechtenstein (DAO), as well as the specialised FIZ centre in Zurich. At least one shelter is run by a faith-based organisation, namely the Salvation Army. Shelters exist in most regions of the country, covering over 50% of the territory, but the level of provision differs by canton.

In 2024, the most common forms of violence reported by survivors to women-only shelters were domestic violence, physical violence, and psychological violence. If shelters had to decline referrals, it was due to a lack of space or insufficient capacity to support the survivor, and in some cases, because they were not adequately equipped to meet the specific needs of the survivors. According to women-only shelters’ statistics, more than 72% of those seeking protection were referred elsewhere, including due to the lack of space (35%), high risk (2%), health issues (2%) or because their canton of residence did not grant cost coverage (8%).¹ In total, 2,676 women and children were accommodated in women-only shelters in 2024, based on figures reported by members of DAO.

Switzerland has 24 women’s centres for survivors of violence, most of which only support women, while others are open to all survivors. Women’s centres are present in all cantons, either as government-run information centres for gender issues and survivors of violence or as NGO-run counselling centres for women. All centres provide counselling support, legal advice, financial and social welfare support, and referrals or collaboration with other services. Other services provided are representation before the court and police, and psychological support. Centres also support survivors of sexualised violence through specialist psychological care and offer community awareness and education for prevention. Seventeen centres are funded by the state, while other women’s centres are mostly run thanks to donations.

Most women’s centres can be accessed by and are accessible to women with uncertain residence permits and undocumented women, refugee women, women with physical disabilities and older women. Some women’s centres are equipped to support women with cognitive and/or sensory disabilities, transgender women and unaccompanied girls under the age of 18. Additionally, five centres are equipped to support survivors (at risk) of honour-based violence, female genital mutilation, and/or trafficking in persons, and one women’s centre is equipped to support survivors (at risk) of forced marriage.

In Switzerland, there are services for women and girls who have experienced sexualised violence. These include one rape crisis centre, around 60 sexual violence referral centres, and two crisis/medical services. There is one sexual violence referral centre in the canton of Bern, while the canton of Zurich has introduced a model with forensic nurses. In most cases, forensic and medical care are provided in hospitals, with forensic nurses being an exception.

The available support includes specialist forensic and medical care, needs assessments, specialist psychological care, specialist sexualised violence advocacy services, community awareness and education for prevention and legal advice. Funding comes mainly from state authorities and donations. Sexualised violence services are available in most regions of Switzerland, though they are less present in rural and remote areas. They support both young women and children (under 18) as well as adult women survivors. The association Violence Que Faire manages a website that offers free and anonymous online counselling services, which are available to survivors, perpetrators, or witnesses. A specific section of the website is dedicated to young people and LGBTQI+ people.

In Switzerland, public authorities do not collect data on primary prevention activities. There is, however, an official National Action Plan on violence against women and girls (2022–2026) that includes prevention, although not as a stand-alone concept. The National Action Plan addresses areas such as combating gender stereotypes, promoting non-violent education, and interventions in schools and sports. The focus remains on awareness-raising, education, research, and victim protection, while evidence-based primary prevention measures are largely absent. The National Action Plan does not provide a formal definition of primary prevention but it is outlined within the scope of the prevention pillar of the Istanbul Convention. No specific budget is allocated to primary prevention activities. Existing initiatives include feminist self-defence trainings, empowerment activities for girls and women, and prevention programmes targeting men and boys. To date, there has been no evaluation of the impact of primary prevention activities in Switzerland.

1. DAO yearly report 2024, accessible at: https://www.frauenhaeuser.ch/sites/default/files/2025-06/250610_DAO_Jahresbericht_2024.pdf ↩︎