Nicola Di Giulio President of the City Council of Lausanne. Domestic violence – The beautiful country of Switzerland is known to offer certain security. But behind the scenes, this image is shattered by the serious situation: domestic violence!
In Switzerland, 20,000 cases of domestic violence are recorded every year. One person dies every week as a result of domestic violence. In the canton of Vaud, it is about four police interventions per day.
Some time ago, the town of Morges hosted a travelling exhibition “Stronger than violence”.
The aim of the project was to raise awareness among young people about domestic violence.
I salute the associations, individuals and our authorities who are mobilising in the face of this very serious situation!
Even more worrying is the fact that half of all young people in couples in Switzerland experience verbal or psychological violence.
Last December, a prevention campaign was launched by several cantons. Every effort is being made to remedy this scourge, which sometimes seems uncontrollable!
Without taking away the perpetrator’s responsibility for his or her sometimes irreparable act, we know that alcohol, drugs or medication can lead to violent behaviour. A question could therefore be asked.
For each case reported shouldn’t there be an in-depth analysis of the presence of these substances at the time of the incident and verify how long they were consumed before the irreparable act?
An analysis of all these situations would perhaps allow us to understand this phenomenon even better and act accordingly. The debate is on!
In the meantime, let us remember Article 5: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. It is time to honour the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
