"We have had enough" Thousands demonstrate in Bern against violence against women
Thousands of people demonstrated against violence against women in Bern to mark the start of the "16 days against violence" prevention campaign. More than 90 organizations called for the demonstration.
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- Thousands of people protested against violence against women in Bern on Saturday.
- The fight against domestic, sexualized and gender-based violence must finally be classified as a political priority, demanded numerous speakers.
- One of the speakers was former Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga (SP). She called for victims of violence to be helped and perpetrators to be punished.
Thousands of people demonstrated against violence against women in Bern on Saturday. The rally on the Bundesplatz was the starting signal for the "16 days against violence" prevention campaign.
More than 90 organizations, including women's rights groups, specialist agencies, non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and parties such as the SP, the Greens and Mitte Frauen, called for the demonstration.
Numerous speakers called for the fight against domestic, sexualized and gender-based violence to finally be classified as a political priority.
Sufficient shelters for victims of violence are needed. These must also be financially secured in the long term. Women's shelters in Switzerland are overcrowded and underfunded, said a representative of the umbrella organization of Swiss women's shelters.
Former Federal Councillor calls for women to be valued
Former Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga (SP) was also among the speakers. In front of a packed Bundesplatz, the former magistrate recalled her work in a women's shelter in Fribourg around 40 years ago. The situation of those affected outraged her and also politicized her, said Sommaruga.
Today, not enough has changed. And recent events in the world gave rise to fears that the situation for women would worsen.
Sommaruga called for victims of violence to be helped and perpetrators to be punished. It was also important to start where the ground for violence against women was laid - for example, with lower wages for women. This means nothing other than that women are given less value. And those who have no value can be disposed of - even by force.
16 femicides this year alone
Every two weeks, a woman is killed by her partner, ex-partner or an acquaintance. This year alone, 16 femicides have already been counted, according to the organizers' call for a demonstration.
Domestic, sexualized and gender-specific violence are part of everyday life in Switzerland. "We have had enough of social indifference and political irresponsibility," they continued.
Several thousand people took part in the rally; a correspondent for the Keystone-SDA news agency estimated the number at 5,000 to 7,000 people at the start of the rally in the afternoon, but the organizers then spoke of a good 10,000 participants in view of the packed Bundesplatz.
The authorized rally was peaceful. However, it was bitterly cold, so many participants were increasingly drawn somewhere warm. Towards the end of the event, only a small group remained on the square. The rally broke up shortly after 5 pm.
SDA
