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I am experiencing violence in my relationship or family

What you can do immediately if you or your children are threatened or hurt by a partner or another person in the household: police and court protective measures, the criminal proceedings, victim support, and the consequences for a residence permit that depends on the relationship.

Reviewed by a lawyer on 30 September 2026Official sources

What to do

  1. If you or your children are in danger right now, call the police immediately on 117 or the emergency number 112. The police also come at night and at weekends. For advice, even without acute danger, you can reach victim support across Switzerland around the clock on 142. The call is free and confidential, and anonymous if you wish. 142 is not an emergency number: in acute danger, always call 117 or 112 first. You do not need to already know what you want to do next to call. The advice centre will help you further, whatever your relationship with the person using violence.

The law

If you live in the same home as the person using violence, a cantonal body responsible for this can immediately expel that person from the shared home in a crisis. This is usually the police. How long the expulsion lasts is set by each canton itself. Call the police for this (117 or your local police station) and ask for a report or an incident number. This document will help you later with an application to the court or with victim support. If you want the protection to continue beyond the expulsion period, file your own application with the court before it expires (see below).

ZGB · Art. 28b

Regardless of whether you have reported the matter, you can apply to the civil court for your own protective measures. The court can, in particular, forbid the person from approaching you, from being in certain places, or from making contact with you in any form. If you live together, the court can also bar the person from the home for a set period; for good cause, this period can be extended once. On your application, the court can also secure such a ban with electronic monitoring: the person then wears a device that is permanently attached and continuously records their location. Monitoring is ordered for at most six months and can be extended by six months at a time. You bear no costs for this. Ask in your application for the court to combine the ban with a threat of punishment. Anyone who disregards a ban combined in this way can be punished with a fine.

ZGB · Art. 28bZGB · Art. 28cStGB · Art. 292

For your own application because of violence, threats or stalking, you do not first have to go to a conciliation hearing: you sue directly at the court. The court does not charge court costs for this; the costs of a lawyer are not covered by this. If you instead pursue protection as part of proceedings on protective measures for the marital union, different cost rules apply (see below). In cases of particular urgency, for example if an immediate order would otherwise come too late, the court can order a measure even without hearing the other side beforehand. That person is then heard promptly afterwards and can respond.

ZPO · Art. 198ZPO · Art. 114ZPO · Art. 265

For common assault, repeated acts of aggression, or serious threats, the state prosecutes the offence on its own initiative if the perpetrator is your spouse, your registered partner, or has lived or has been living with you in a shared household without being married for an indefinite period. This also applies for up to a year after divorce, dissolution of the partnership, or separation. This means: you do not have to file a criminal complaint yourself, and you cannot simply end proceedings once opened by withdrawing it. The public prosecutor decides on charges or discontinuation.

StGB · Art. 123StGB · Art. 126StGB · Art. 180

Anyone who uses force or the threat of serious harm to compel you to do something, refrain from doing something, or tolerate something, commits the offence of coercion. Unlike a threat or common assault, coercion is always prosecuted by the state itself, regardless of your relationship with the perpetrator; no criminal complaint is needed.

StGB · Art. 181

For common assault, repeated acts of aggression, threats or coercion within a couple relationship, you as the victim can ask the public prosecutor or the court to suspend the criminal proceedings for at most six months, if this can stabilise or improve your situation. The accused can be required to attend a course on violence prevention during this time. Important: this does not happen automatically and is not a withdrawal of your report. If you later ask for the proceedings to continue after all, or if your situation does not improve, the proceedings resume. If your situation has stabilised or improved by the end of the six months, the proceedings are abandoned. Suspension is excluded if the accused has already been convicted of an earlier offence of violence, against personal liberty or a sexual offence against a partner.

StGB · Art. 55a

As the victim of an offence against your physical, psychological or sexual integrity, you are entitled to victim support. This applies regardless of whether the perpetrator has been identified or convicted. Close relations such as a spouse, children or parents can also claim victim support. The advice centres support you free of charge and are bound to confidentiality. They help you exercise your rights. Support includes medical, psychological, social, material and legal assistance, depending on your needs. If necessary, the advice centres also arrange emergency accommodation.

OHG · Art. 1OHG · Art. 12OHG · Art. 14OHG · Art. 5OHG · Art. 11

Advice

This overview does not replace personal advice. Especially where children are affected, criminal proceedings are under way, or your residence status depends on the relationship, it is worth involving a specialist early: the cantonal victim support centre, a lawyer for family and criminal law, or your canton's free legal information service.

Help

Free and confidential contact points: you can find your cantonal victim support centre using the search on opferhilfe-schweiz.ch. Women's shelters throughout Switzerland offer women and their children safe, usually undisclosed accommodation at short notice; an overview is available at frauenhaeuser.ch. Some cantons also have shelters for men; ask the victim support centre about this. For legal questions, many cantons and bar associations offer free or low-cost initial consultations.

Scope

Violence, threats or stalking by a spouse, a registered partner, a partner in a shared household, a former partner, or another family member. Police removal, civil-law protection, the criminal proceedings, victim support, protective measures for the marital union, and the consequences for a residence permit that depends on the relationship.

Not covered: This overview does not replace personal advice or emergency care. It does not cover the arrangements for children in an ordinary separation without violence (see the guide on separation), neighbour disputes, or the special rules of asylum law.

Sources

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