Grand Council BS Forced welfare measures in Basel-Stadt are being reappraised

On Wednesday, the Basel Grand Council approved CHF 600,000 by 95 votes to 1 for a research project on the reappraisal of coercive measures. According to initial estimates, around 5,000 to 6,000 adults and young people were affected between 1930 and 1980.

Among other things, the research project aims to take a closer look at institutional admissions and compulsory psychiatric admissions. The canton of Basel-Stadt still has a research gap in this dark chapter of Swiss history, as a historian from the University of Basel noted in a preliminary study.

As part of this project, the exact numbers of those affected are to be determined, state and non-state actors in the forced admissions identified and the economic context examined. Previous scientific studies have mainly focused on the situation of children. For example, there have already been studies on forced placements, foster care and the "Verdingkinder" system and the role of Basel psychiatry in birth control.

Results to be published as a book

However, there is still a blind spot when it comes to examining the fates of young people and adults who were forcibly cared for. These include forced admissions to psychiatric clinics and drug trials, according to the preliminary study.

The funding is intended for the project management and two research assistants. The results of the research will be published as a book.

The Basel government apologized to the people affected in 2021. At the time, it dedicated a memorial plaque in the inner courtyard of the town hall, which has commemorated this injustice ever since.

SDA