Victim support (Switzerland)

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The victim assistance in Switzerland is the help received by a person of a crime in their physical, sexual or psychological integrity has been directly affected. It is aimed at the three areas of advisory assistance, financial assistance and betterment in criminal proceedings.

Basics

Victims Aid Switzerland goes back to a popular initiative by the magazine "Der Beobachter" , which called for the state to take care of the fate of the victims of crime.

Any person whose physical, sexual or psychological integrity has been directly impaired by a criminal act is to be regarded as a victim within the meaning of the law. The victim is entitled to support under the Victims Assistance Act . Criminal offenses against life and limb such as killing, bodily harm (without assault), robbery and sexual offenses are recorded. Property crimes are excluded. Not only those directly affected, but also close relatives are considered victims.

The right to victim assistance exists regardless of whether the perpetrator has been identified, acted culpably or deliberately or negligently. Criminal proceedings, on the other hand, make it easier to prove a criminal offense and thus to clarify the facts in a possible compensation and satisfaction procedure.

Victim assistance requires a criminal act in Switzerland. If the crime was committed abroad, the victim can benefit from the advice center provided that the victim was resident in Switzerland at the time of the crime. In such cases, however, no compensation or satisfaction will be granted.

Victim assistance is subsidiary . Benefits are only finally granted if the perpetrator or another obligated institution (such as an insurance company) does not provide any or insufficient benefits.

Legal regulations

Victim assistance is primarily based on the Victims Assistance Act of March 27, 2007 (OHG) and the Victims Assistance Ordinance of February 27, 2008 (OHV) of the federal government. Further provisions can be found in cantonal laws and ordinances. Since January 1, 2011, the rights of the victim in criminal proceedings have been exclusively contained in the section on the injured person, victims and private claimant of the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure of October 5, 2007 (Art. 115 ff. StPO) and in the Swiss Code of Youth Criminal Procedure of March 20, 2009 (JStPO) regulated.

According to Art. 117 StPO, the victim has special rights, namely:

  1. the right to privacy protection (Art. 70 para. 1 let. a, 74 para. 4, 152 para. 1);
  2. the right to be accompanied by a person of trust (Art. 70 para. 2, 152 para. 2);
  3. the right to protective measures (Art. 152–154);
  4. the right to refuse to testify (Art. 169 para. 4);
  5. the right to information (Articles 305 and 330 Paragraph 3);
  6. the right to a special composition of the court (Art. 335 para. 4).

In the case of victims under the age of 18, the special provisions for the protection of their personality also apply, namely regarding:

  1. Restrictions on the confrontation with the accused (Art. 154 Para. 4);
  2. special protective measures in the event of questioning (Art. 154 paras. 2–4);
  3. Discontinuation of the proceedings (Art. 319 Paragraph 2).

Victim support services

consultation

The victim and their relatives are entitled to free advice, information and support. You can contact an advice center of your choice. These tasks are carried out in the cantons by the recognized victim counseling centers.

Immediate aid and long-term aid

The counseling centers provide the victim and their relatives with immediate help for the most urgent needs that arise as a result of the crime (emergency aid). The emergency aid can be provided in a variety of ways and tailored to the individual case. a. initial legal advice, emergency shelter or psychological help. Additional help is provided until the health of the person concerned has stabilized and until the other consequences of the crime have been eliminated or compensated for as far as possible (long-term help). The distinction between long-term and immediate aid is relevant for cost regulation.

compensation

Victims and relatives are entitled to compensation for the damage suffered as a result of the crime (e.g. lost wages, treatment or funeral costs), provided that their income is below a certain limit. The compensation does not cover property damage (e.g. costs for the camera destroyed in the act) and amounts to a maximum of 120,000 francs. No compensation will be paid if it would be less than CHF 500.

satisfaction

Regardless of their financial situation, victims and relatives can demand satisfaction if they were particularly seriously affected by the crime. The satisfaction is a maximum of 70,000 francs for the victim and 35,000 francs for the relatives. The satisfaction is intended to compensate for the mental suffering associated with a criminal offense and expresses that the state community recognizes the difficult situation of the victim.

See also

materials

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Victims Aid Switzerland website ( memento of the original dated November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sodk.ch
  2. ↑ Message on the total revision of the Federal Act on Assistance to Victims of Criminal Offenses of November 9, 2005 (BBl 2005 7170)
  3. ↑ Art. 1 para. 1 OHG
  4. ↑ Art. 1 para. 3 OHG acted.
  5. ↑ a b c Information for victims and their relatives , Federal Office of Justice, 2013
  6. ↑ Art. 3 para. 1 OHG
  7. ↑ a b c Art. 3 Paragraph 2 OHG
  8. ↑ Art. 4 Paragraph 1 OHG
  9. ^ Information sheet on the position of the victim in criminal proceedings in Basel-Landschaft , April 25, 2017
  10. ↑ Linda Sutter: Examination of child victims according to the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO). A challenge in the field of tension between victim interests, interests of criminal prosecution and the rights of the accused, taking into account legal and communication psychological aspects. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, 2011
  11. ↑ Susanna Niehaus, Renate Volbert, Jörg M. Fegert: Special procedural conditions for underage victim witnesses in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. In: Development-appropriate questioning of children in criminal proceedings. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg 2017, pp. 7–20. ISBN 978-3-662-53862-3
  12. ↑ Art. 12 para. 1 OHG
  13. ↑ Art. 15 para. 3 OHG
  14. ↑ Art. 13 Paragraph 1 OHG
  15. ↑ Art. 13 para. 2 OHG
  16. ↑ Art. 19 ff. OHG
  17. ↑ Art. 22 ff. OHG
  18. ↑ Message on the total revision of the Federal Act on Assistance to Victims of Crime of November 9, 2005 (BBl 2005 7222)