Summer heat linked to rise in domestic violence reports in Switzerland

This summer's high temperatures may have contributed to a sharp rise in domestic violence reports in Switzerland. That is what data from the victim support services of the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt show, with a 30% increase compared to the previous summer.

"Non abbiamo mai visto numeri del genere" (We have never seen numbers like this), said Beat John, director of the two services. According to John, heat could be one of the main causes behind the increase.

Reports peaked in August, coinciding with the season's fourth heatwave. This timing has led experts to suggest a link between high temperatures and domestic violence, a hypothesis also supported by scientific studies showing that heat affects people's psychological and physical balance.

Reports involving children and young people up 42%

Most reports come from women and concern incidents that took place in public places. The most worrying figure, however, concerns minors: reports of violence against children and young people rose by 42%. These numbers raise questions about the ability of social services to identify at-risk situations in time, particularly those in which victims have the fewest means to ask for help on their own.

Part of the increase could be linked to the launch, on 1 May, of the national victim support number "142". In Basel, one of the first cantons to activate the service, calls nevertheless remained stable, suggesting that the new number alone does not explain the rise in reports.

Significant increases were also reported in other cantons: in Aargau, reports rose by 40%, while St. Gallen and Appenzell also recorded growing numbers. Zurich is the exception: during the football World Cup, cases of domestic violence and alcohol-related offences did not rise as expected, but fell instead.

The picture that emerges raises questions about the resources available to victim support services, which are being asked to respond to growing demand during a time of year increasingly marked by heatwaves. Ensuring that people who experience violence, especially minors, are heard and protected remains a public responsibility that cannot be measured by call numbers alone.