The former “specialist unit” in the General Secretariat of the Department of Justice and Security has been called “Protection against violence and victim support” since 2023. In addition to domestic and sexualized violence, the department also deals with prostitution, human trafficking and victim support. It is also home to quality assurance for cantonal threat management and violence monitoring.

The “Protection against violence and victim support” department pursues the overarching goal of improving protection against violence and victim support in all of the areas mentioned. It is active at a strategic and coordinative level and maintains contact with numerous partners at various functional levels.

Priority areas “Domestic violence” and “Sexualized violence”
Among other things, the department is strategically responsible for the implementation of the current priority areas “Domestic violence” and “Sexualized violence” as well as human trafficking in the fight against crime. The Government Council has defined this focus for the years 2022 to 2024. In the area of domestic violence, the “Halt Gewalt” prevention project was launched last fall by the Department of Justice and Security and the Department of Presidential Affairs. “Halt Gewalt” uses community work methods to prevent domestic violence. The target group of the project is the residents of a district, who are to be activated to deal with victims of domestic violence. The aim is to create social networks that establish contact with professional players and provide low-threshold support for those affected. In the area of sexualized violence, the introduction of a round table is planned, as has been the case for many years in the area of domestic violence. Round tables are – in addition to other measures – important bodies for implementing the Istanbul Convention (Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence) at cantonal level in a coordinated manner and with combined forces.

Cantonal threat management
Cantonal threat management was launched on March 1. The aim is to detect threats emanating from people and directed at other people at an early stage. In this way, these situations can be countered preventively. A broad network of trained contact persons from all departments can report threats to the department.

The Government Council’s “Commission for the Protection against Violence” is established for quality assurance purposes. It consists of members from all departments. As a result, protection against violence should increasingly become a cantonal task. The monitoring of violence, which is currently being set up, will also depend on the cooperation of the various departments. Although different agencies already collect data today, it is not yet possible to systematically evaluate it and relate it to one another in a comprehensible manner, either because there is no standardized definition, the data quality is poor or important aspects are not recorded. The development of a solid database offers great potential for a better understanding of violent phenomena such as domestic violence. In future, it should be possible to evaluate measures taken by the authorities and thus implement them more effectively.

Further information

Prevention project “Halt Violence” – tips on how to behave, important advice centers and further information on domestic violence

Threat management of the Canton of Basel-Stadt