Council of Europe evaluates Switzerland's progress in combating violence against women and domestic violence
Bern, 09.03.2026 — The Council of Europe's independent Group of Experts on Action against Vio-lence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) will pay its second country visit to Switzerland from 9 to 13 March 2026. GREVIO will review how Switzerland is implementing the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Con-vention). The review will be based on Switzerland's second state report on the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, which was adopted by the Federal Council on 26 September 2025.
The second country visit will focus on a dialogue on the progress made by Switzerland in implementing the Istanbul Convention since the first evaluation in 2022. Existing challenges relating to support, protection, and prosecution will also be discussed. The GREVIO experts will assess in particular the implementation of the Council of Europe's recommendations from the first evaluation cycle.
Dialogue with the federal government, cantons, communes and civil society
During its visit, the GREVIO delegation will meet representatives of various federal agencies, such as the Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE), the Federal Statistical Office and the Swiss Armed Forces. The focus will be on issues relating to the financing of measures, data collection, training for law enforcement, and cooperation between the federal government, cantons, communes and civil society.
In addition to discussions at the federal level, GREVIO will also meet with representatives of the cantons, cities and communes. Visits are planned to the cantons of Ticino and Fribourg, including a victim support counselling centre and the new department of violence medicine at Fribourg Hospital. A dialogue with civil society is also planned.
Monitoring the implementation of the Istanbul Convention
The Istanbul Convention has been in force in Switzerland since 1 April 2018. The FOGE is responsible for Switzerland's reporting to the Council of Europe. Through monitoring by GREVIO, the Council of Europe assesses how the Committee of the Parties is implementing its obligations in the areas of prevention, victim protection, prosecution and coordinated action. Switzerland also regularly produces state reports on the status of implementation of the Istanbul Convention. The Federal Council adopted the second state report for the Council of Europe on 26 September 2025.
Based on the results of the second evaluation, GREVIO will provide recommendations to Switzerland by the end of 2026. These recommendations are intended to help further strengthen measures to combat violence against women and domestic violence. They will also be incorporated into the future national strategy on violence, which is being developed jointly by the Federal Department of Home Affairs and the Federal Department of Justice and Police.
Further information:
Switzerland's second state report: available in German and French
Switzerland's report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee of the Parties (CoP) of 6 December 2022: available in German and French
National Action Plan 2022–2026 (NAP IK) for the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention: available in German and French