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National Systems of Child Protection pp 207–227Cite as

Structure and Challenges of Child Protection in Switzerland

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Part of the book series: Child Maltreatment ((MALT,volume 8))

Abstract

This chapter aims at providing an overview on legislation, organizational structure and processes of child protection in Switzerland. For a relatively small country, the number of services is rather vast. This diversity arises from 26 cantonal and sub-cantonal variations of organizing child protection and is amplified by Switzerland’s cultural and linguistic variety. The roles in public child protection differ into risk assessment, deciding on child protection orders, and providing mandated services. They are assigned to at least two different types of organizations. Penal agencies are responsible for prosecuting child maltreatment offenses. Federal legislation entitles victims of crimes to support free-of-charge. Many private or semi-private agencies, such as specialized psychosocial counselling services or interdisciplinary child protection teams, are recognized as victim aid agencies and are therefore able to fund a part of the victim’s support through federal money. The new Child and Adult Protection Law, implemented in 2013, mandates professional sentinels to report to a child protection authority when a “person needs assistance”. Challenges discussed pertain, for example, to increasing the degree of standardization of risk assessment across cantons and to a lack of surveillance and shared data. Moreover, corporal punishment has still not been banned completely.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The 26 cantons are Switzerland‘s provincial jurisdictions.

  2. 2.

    The Federal Council provides on its webpage English translations of Swiss law while reminding readers that English translation are only for information purposes and have no legal force (see https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/federal-law/classified-compilation.html).

  3. 3.

    The German term “Kindeswohl” literally translates to child wellbeing. However, the French version of the SCivC is worded differently: It refers to “le développement de l’enfant” that literally translates to child development. The different notions attached to the wording likely influence child protection in the different parts of the country (cf. subsection, Managing diversity on a small scale). The use of the term child wellbeing – instead of the best interests of the child – has been criticized by the UN Committee on the rights of the child (2015).

  4. 4.

    The SCrimC lists physically and psychologically violent acts independent of the victim’s age and development (Art. 111ff., Art. 122ff., and Art. 180ff. SCrimC).

  5. 5.

    An overview on agencies in these sectors for each canton can be found at http://www.optimusstudy.org/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/2013/Newsletter/Cartographie_2013.pdf. The list is also linked to geographical map at https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1JkF6qA4ow441fRoeW1bcxaXCFgM&ll=46.8006166113862%2C8.21145290000004&z=8

  6. 6.

    A directive may, for example, call the parents to visit a pediatrician with their child.

  7. 7.

    This child protection order consequently includes the child’s placement in out-of-home care.

  8. 8.

    Terminations of the parental responsibility, on the other hand, make up less than 1% of orders in place 2015 (Konferenz für Kindes- und Erwachsenenschutz (KOKES) 2016).

  9. 9.

    See the federal parliament’s webpage on the progress of the debate (https://www.parlament.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/suche-curia-vista/geschaeft?AffairId=20150033).

  10. 10.

    A committee is preparing a federal popular initiative that may lead to a national vote on the topic, see http://stopp-der-kesb-willkuer.ch/Volksinitiative/

  11. 11.

    See http://kescha.ch/ for details.

  12. 12.

    Some CPTs like the one at University Children’s Hospital in Zurich also evaluate externally referred cases.

  13. 13.

    As for example seen in total central government debt in reference to the GDP (see, http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=PDB_LV) or other OECD statistics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

    Andreas Jud

  2. School of Social Work, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne, Switzerland

    Andreas Jud

  3. Observatory on Child Maltreatment, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    René Knüsel

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  1. Andreas Jud
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  2. René Knüsel
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Correspondence to Andreas Jud .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA

    Lisa Merkel-Holguin , John D. Fluke  & Richard D. Krugman ,  & 

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Jud, A., Knüsel, R. (2019). Structure and Challenges of Child Protection in Switzerland. In: Merkel-Holguin, L., Fluke, J.D., Krugman, R.D. (eds) National Systems of Child Protection. Child Maltreatment, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93348-1_11

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