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Male-female power dynamics
In Switzerland, domestic abuse is a public health problem and a sign of serious gender inequality. All relationships, heterosexual or otherwise, can be affected by this problem.
However, the figures clearly show that the majority of victims are women and the majority of perpetrators are men. According to the statistics on victim support in Switzerland, 12,732 women were victims of abuse from their partners in 2020, compared with 912 men who were victims of abuse from their partners. This means that 93% of women were victims of abuse from men in heterosexual relationships. On average, one person dies every fortnight as a result of domestic abuse, and most of them are women.
What is the reason for this trend, which seems to persist not only in Switzerland but throughout the world?
This is the question that this episode seeks to answer.
This fifth episode focuses exclusively on the cisgender heterosexual relationship model. However, there are other types of relationships, and some people don’t identify with the gender associated with their biological sex. These topics will be covered in a future episode.
Meet the expert
Marta Roca i Escoda has a PhD in sociology from the University of Geneva. She is currently a lecturer and researcher at the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Lausanne. Her research focuses on the mobilisation of law and public action from a gender and sexuality perspective
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (June 2020): statistics on domestic abuse in Switzerland
World Health Organisation: who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women
Roca i Escoda, M., Lieber, M., 2015. La Mise en Oeuvre et les Mutations d’un Problème Public: Les Violences Faites aux Femmes dans le Canton de Genève (Translation: The Implementation and Mutations of a Public Problem: Abuse Against Women in the Canton of Geneva). Oñati Socio-legal Series [online], 5 (2), 766-784. https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:73276
Delage P., Lieber M., Chetcuti-Osorovitz N., 2019. Lutter contre les violences de genre. Des mouvements féministes à leur institutionnalisation. (translation: Fighting gender abuse. From feminist movements to their institutionalisation), Cahiers du Genre, 1, 66, p. 5-16: https://www.cairn.info/revue-cahiers-du-genre-2019-1-page-5.htm
Du sexisme ordinaire aux violences sexuelles : repérer pour agir. Guide à l’attention des professionnel-le-s. République et Canton de Genève. (translation: From ordinary sexism to sexual abuse: identifying in order to act. A guide for professionals)
Production and visuals by Julia Guglielmetti for the Association VIOLENCE QUE FAIRE
Music: Valentin Perroud – Pylone – Bloom
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