Basel-Stadt launches campaign against domestic violence
Basel authorities are launching an awareness campaign to prevent domestic violence. This project, called «Halt Gewalt,» aims, among other things, to involve community-based outreach efforts.
The goal is to establish a clear attitude against domestic violence among the population and to reduce inhibitions about providing help. This was announced by security director Stephanie Eymann (LDP) and government president Beat Jans (SP) to the media on Thursday.
For prevention, both the victims and the neighborhood environment must be involved, which is usually the first to become aware of this form of violence. "We want to reduce inhibitions about getting help and empower the neighborhood population to support those affected," said Imma Mäder, project manager of "Halt Gewalt." Part of the interdepartmental campaign includes posters, social media and moral courage workshops.
Demands of the Istanbul Convention
The campaign takes up two demands of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence. These include better information and awareness-raising in civil society and among professionals, said Mäder. The latter also includes neighborhood work, he said.
Accordingly, in a pilot phase in Kleinbasel, the authorities are working together with the district secretariat. This has the important task of building a bridge between civil society and the administration, said Theres Wernli, co-director of the Kleinbasel district secretariat.
For example, the aim is to make offers of help better known. "The inhibition threshold to notify the police is high," said Stephanie Eymann. There are often signs that point to domestic violence, but they don't have to. This, she said, causes uncertainty among many people about how to intervene in suspected cases. Therefore, the goal is to sensitize the population and support them with concrete tips. (SDA)
