Swiss government drops extra million for women’s protection

The Swiss federal government is expected to close its annual accounts with a billion-franc surplus, but it has again left out an additional one million francs for protecting women from violence in its 2027 budget, SRF reports.

The Federal Office for Gender Equality, the government office responsible for equality projects, is set to receive three million francs for projects run by third parties, rather than the four million approved for the previous budget.

SP parliamentarians have told the Tages-Anzeiger they will once again fight for the additional funding.

The dispute began in December, when the National Council rejected an extra million francs for protecting women from violence. SP parliamentarian Tamara Funiciello said at the time: “A budget in which potatoes and sheep have priority over protecting women is not our budget.” The council had approved additional funding for sheep while rejecting the money for women’s protection.

Parliamentarians subsequently received hundreds of protest emails, while an online petition gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures within a few days. Several hundred people also took part in a spontaneous demonstration on Bern’s Bundesplatz, demanding greater protection from gender-based violence.

Funiciello told the Tages-Anzeiger that the decision was particularly troubling because the federal government is expected to post a billion-franc surplus. The army is receiving 970 million francs from it, she said, while the Federal Council lacks a majority for funding to protect women.