New communication channels are also becoming increasingly important in victim counseling. Advice via e-mail, WhatsApp or other text messages is already available today. What has been missing so far is access to synchronous chat advice. It is more accessible for many people, guarantees more anonymity and appeals to the younger generation in particular.

Running a chat advisory service is very costly, both financially and in terms of personnel. A victim counseling center alone cannot raise the necessary funds. For this reason, seven counseling centers that offer victim counseling for eleven German-speaking cantons in Switzerland have joined forces to operate a joint platform for chat counseling. In addition to the victim support centers in beider Basel, this also includes the victim support centers in Aargau, Bern, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Appenzell IR and AR, Thurgau and Zurich.

On January 1, 2023, the intercantonal chat advice service will start operating. It offers polyvalent victim counseling within the framework of the Victim Assistance Act (OHG), i.e. on all topics relating to violence and crime, and is available during office hours. The participating advice centers cover the attendance times as a percentage of the represented population. Victims of violence in the two cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft are thus given further access to professional victim counseling.

The project will run in this form until the end of 2024. Experience will be systematically evaluated in 2023 and 2024. The knowledge gained will be incorporated into the project and will also be used to optimize future services. Opferhilfe beider Basel is represented on the project management team and plays a key role in its implementation.