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Switzerland

Switzerland Weighs 'Zero Tolerance' Approach To Forced Marriages

'Coercion' is already a crime under Swiss law. But a new bill coming up before parliament would single out coercion in the form of forced marriages. Not surprisingly, debate over the issue is bound to be highly charged -- and about much

Switzerland's Federal Assembly building in Bern (Wikipedia)
Switzerland's Federal Assembly building in Bern (Wikipedia)

*NEWSBITES

ZURICH -- Lawmakers in Switzerland will soon be considering a bill that criminalizes forced marriage. Supporters of the measure say such marriages are "incompatible with Swiss culture." Some critics, however, worry that the bill is less about protecting victims of forced marriage than it is about targeting Muslims. The bill goes before the Nationalrat, the lower house of Switzerland's Federal Assembly, in the upcoming spring session.

Under the new proposal, anyone "who uses violence or threatens unpleasant consequences' to force another into marriage would be committing a criminal offense. Technically speaking, such actions are already against the law in Switzerland, where perpetrators can be prosecuted for "coercion," a more general category. Authors of the new bill are hoping to clamp down even harder by making forced marriage a separate, specific crime that carries prison sentences of up to five years. In less severe instances, perpetrators would be fined.

Lucerne national councilor Ruedi Lustenberger of the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland (CVP) doesn't think the proposal goes far enough. "Forced marriages are simply not reconcilable with our culture," he says, adding that he would support a minimum of two years' prison for parents who force their offspring into marriage against the latter's express will. This would mean that those without Swiss citizenship would face automatic expulsion from Switzerland. Current practice is that any non-Swiss sentenced to more than a year in prison has their residency permit taken away. Foreigners with a Swiss spouse lose their residence permits if they are sentenced to two years of prison – hence Lustenberger's suggested minimum two-year sentence.

Lustenberger can count on the support of the conservative Swiss People's Party, the Liberals, and Conservative Democratic Party, but not of the Free Democratic Party, or left-wing and green parties. "A minimum sentence of two years would limit the judge's margin of discretion too much," says Solothurn national councilor Kurt Fluri of the Free Democratic Party. Fluri doesn't buy Lustenberger's line that forced marriage is irreconcilable with Swiss culture. "So is theft," Fluri says.

Marc Spescha, a lawyer specialized in immigration issues, questions whether creating a separate criminal offence for forcing someone to marry would have anything more than symbolic value. He points out that charges are hardly ever brought in Switzerland. However, the National Council's proposed measures also include ways of making more effective investigation possible such as having civil registrar offices follow up applications for marriage licenses in cases of doubt.

A 2006 study estimated the number of forced marriages in Switzerland to be 17,000, with a third of the victims minors.

Read the full story in German by Fabian Renz

Photo - Wikipedia

*Newsbites are digest items, not direct translations

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Society

Do We Need Our Parents When We Grow Up? Doubts Of A Young Father

As his son grows older, Argentine journalist Ignacio Pereyra wonders when a father is no longer necessary.

Do We Need Our Parents When We Grow Up? Doubts Of A Young Father

"Is it true that when I am older I won’t need a papá?," asked the author's son.

Ignacio Pereyra

It’s 2am, on a Wednesday. I am trying to write about anything but Lorenzo (my eldest son), who at four years old is one of the exclusive protagonists of this newsletter.

You see, I have a whole folder full of drafts — all written and ready to go, but not yet published. There’s 30 of them, alternatively titled: “Women who take on tasks because they think they can do them better than men”; “As a father, you’ll always be doing something wrong”; “Friendship between men”; “Impressing everyone”; “Wanderlust, or the crisis of monogamy”, “We do it like this because daddy say so”.

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