Rape and sexual violence levels ‘staggeringly high’ in Switzerland with women ‘failed by dangerous laws’

Unlike the UK, Swiss law still does not define rape on the basis of lack of consent

Swiss women in Geneva protest against the country’s rape culture during the 2017 Swiss Slutwalk demonstration (EPA)

Switzerland has “staggeringly high” levels of rape and sexual violence and the problem is radically more widespread in the country than is commonly assumed, a new study has found.

The Amnesty International survey, which involved interviews with 4,495 women and girls aged 16 and over, found women and girls are being let down by “dangerous and outdated” laws.

The report found one in five women surveyed has been subjected to sexual violence, and more than 10 per cent of women surveyed had been raped. Only 8 per cent of women surveyed reported the assault to the police.

“This survey not only reveals staggeringly high levels of rape and sexual violence against women but also shockingly low levels of reporting,” Manon Schick, managing director of Amnesty Switzerland, said.

“These findings should be a wake-up call for the authorities in Switzerland and spur the urgent reform of Switzerland’s antiquated rape laws.”

The Istanbul Convention – a pan-European convention tackling violence against women which was ratified by Switzerland in 2017 – stipulates rape and all other non-consensual acts of a sexual nature must be classified as criminal offences.

But Swiss law still does not define rape on the basis of lack of consent. Instead, it uses a definition based on whether physical violence, threat or coercion is involved.

The assumption in either law or in practice that a victim gives their consent because they have not physically resisted is profoundly problematic since experts have identified “involuntary paralysis” or “freezing” as a highly common physiological and psychological response to sexual assault.

Women demonstrate during a rally on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Lausanne, Switzerland (EPA)

Amnesty says that this emphasis in the law not only has an impact on reporting rape, but also on the wider awareness of sexual violence – both of which are fundamental aspects of stopping rape and addressing impunity.

The human rights organisation analysed rape legislation in 31 countries in Europe and found that only eight out of 31 countries have consent-based legislation in place. Those countries are the UK, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Cyprus, Iceland and Germany.

For the crime to be considered rape in the other European countries, the law requires for example the use of force or threats, despite the fact this is not what happens in a great majority of rape cases.

The latest study comes after a damning Amnesty International report found Nordic nations have “disturbingly high” levels of rape despite being gender equality trailblazers.

The study from April found flawed legislation, prevalent harmful myths and gender stereotypes have given rise to endemic impunity for rapists across the region.

Campaigners found Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – four countries which are among the top-ranking countries in the world for gender equality – have high levels of rape and survivors of sexual violence are being let down by their justice systems.

Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said: “It is a paradox that Nordic countries, which have strong records of upholding gender equality, suffer shockingly high levels of rape.”

Social stigma and a lack of trust in the justice system often mean that women and girls fail to report attacks, and those that do are frequently failed by callous and prejudiced justice systems or outdated laws, she said.

“One survivor told us she would never have reported her rape had she known how she would have been treated, and her story is typical in justice systems which are stacked against rape survivors,” she added.

Amnesty International noted that although the situation facing survivors of rape is not uniform across the four Nordic countries, there were “disturbing parallels” among them as their criminal justice systems “ignore, deny and tacitly condone” sexual violence against women.