Great need for chat advice

Since the beginning of the year, a new, uncomplicated access to victim support has been available in the form of chat counseling. How is the offer being received? What are the opportunities and difficulties? An interim report.

The chat advice service has been available from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. since January 1, 2023. For 50 hours a week, the victim support services of beider Basel, together with the victim counseling or support services of Aargau, Bern, Lucerne, Nidwalden, St. Gallen, Appenzell IR and AR, Thurgau and Zurich, offer counseling on all topics relating to violence and crime.

Successful start
In the first six months, 446 qualified consultations were provided via the chat. This means that the new medium supports roughly the same number of people seeking advice as a medium-sized victim counseling center in Switzerland. “That’s enormous,” says Thomas Gall from the Basel Victim Support Center. “During this time, we were on call for seven hours a week. During this time, 71 people seeking advice received qualified advice. This puts us slightly above the average for the participating agencies.”

Who is looking for advice?
The great challenge of synchronous chat counseling is that the experts often don’t know who the other person is until the very end. For example, in around 30% of consultations, the gender remains unclear until the end. The advisors can only adhere to the written word. All other sensory perceptions that can be used in a consultation are eliminated.

If personal characteristics are specified, then it can be seen that the average person seeking advice is female, between 30 and 64 years old and is seeking advice about violence in a relationship. Of the 71 people seeking advice mentioned above, 42 stated their gender as female and 7 as male. Sexualized violence and experiences of violence outside the relationship are discussed almost as frequently as domestic violence. Those seeking advice are often advised to contact the local victim counseling center. In the chat, however, the vast majority of consultations are one-off.

Joint supervision – a novelty
Supervisions have now also taken place. “As far as we know, this is the first time in the history of the Victim Assistance Act (OHG) that counsellors from different agencies have ever taken part in a joint supervision,” emphasizes Thomas Gall. “In this way, the chat advice project also contributes to a valuable professional exchange between the advice centers. We wouldn’t want to be without that anymore.”

Targeted public relations work
Public relations work is carried out primarily via electronic channels, in line with the advertised medium. Radio spots on digital radio stations and music streaming applications in particular reach a younger audience, which the project aims to address. In addition, a limited amount of screen advertising was carried out on public transport.

Early evaluation
The FHNW University of Applied Sciences provided intensive support for the project in the first half of the year. People seeking advice were asked to complete a questionnaire and the advisors also had to answer questions after each consultation. Interviews were also conducted with the project managers of the advice centers involved. The evaluation will be completed soon. The results will be presented in the next interim report.

Experience is needed
It has proven to be a good idea to use counselors who have sufficient experience in victim counseling and to train them specifically for the challenges of the chat medium. From the very beginning, Opferhilfe beider Basel has aimed to have at least five to six counselors who can provide chat counseling. Due to natural staff turnover, it remains a challenge to maintain this level.

Long-term plans
The departments involved are already thinking about the medium and longer-term prospects. The project will run in this form until the end of 2024. It is clear that the chat advice service will continue to exist afterwards and will be integrated into the services offered by the individual offices. The aim is also to bring other advice centers on board. Experience shows that they must be polyvalent victim counseling centers that can advise inquiries from all categories of victims. For this reason, only a limited number of advice centers can be considered. Contact is made with them personally.