Petition

Petition - For a better protection of victims of trafficking in women!

On the 11th September 2008 the petition was handed in with a total of 71'980 signatures.

Thanks a lot for signing the petition and for your support to collect signatures!

Please have a look at our press release (in German) (pdf)

Trafficking in women represents a serious violation of human rights. It happens every day – also in Switzerland. To act against trafficking in women does not only mean to prosecute the traffickers, but also to recognize victims and to protect them.

We demand

of the Federal Council and the Federal Parliament

  1. to introduce the right to stay for victims of trafficking – independently of their testimony as a witness;
  2. to set obligatory standards of the specific protection of victims of trafficking in women for all cantons;
  3. to encourage awareness-raising and information campaigns in Switzerland;
  4. to ratify as soon as possible the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

of the Governments of Cantons

  1. not to criminalize victims of trafficking in women, but to grant them a permit to stay;
  2. to guarantee for a safe shelter, specialized assistance and counselling to victims of trafficking;
  3. to train police, justice and migration authorities on a regular basis and to oblige them to cooperate with the specialized centres and to engage specialists in human trafficking.

Background information to our demands (pdf)
Petition to print out (pdf)

The following coalition members of the Euro 08 Campaign Against Trafficking in Women launch the petition: alliance F, Amnesty International, Swiss section, cfd – Feminist NGO for Peace, Christian Mission for East European Countries, ECPAT Switzerland of the Swiss Oganisation for Child Protection, EFS/FPS – Protestant Women, FIZ – Women’s Information Center for women from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, HEKS/EPER – aid agency of the Swiss Protestant Churches, maenner.ch, umbrella organisation of men’s and fathers’ organisations in Switzerland, mission 21, NGO post Beijing Switzerland, The Salvation Army, Suzanne Mubarak Women's International Peace Movement – SMWIPM, Swiss Catholic Women’s Federation, Swiss Union of Jewish Women’s Organisations, Swiss Workers’ Aid, Terre des femmes Switzerland, terre des hommes schweiz, UNIA – trade union, UNIFEM – United Nations Development Fund for Women Switzerland/Liechtenstein, Women of the Socialist Party, World Council of Churches, World Vision Switzerland