National Council wants to enshrine anti-sexism criminal law
Published: Wednesday, Dec 6th 2023, 10:00
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Incitement to hatred and violence based on gender should be punishable by law. This is the opinion of the National Council. In its eyes, sexism is an unacceptable violation of human dignity that should be punishable by law.
On Wednesday, the Grand Chamber approved six identical parliamentary initiatives from the SP, Greens, GLP, Center Party, FDP and EPP - by 123 votes to 65. The responsible Council of States committee will deal with the matter next. It did not approve the initiatives last May by 6 votes to 4 with one abstention.
The National Council disagrees: it is calling for an amendment to Article 261bis of the Criminal Code, the so-called anti-racism criminal provision. Specifically, the word "gender" should be added to the article. Violations of this should be punishable with a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine.
Violence and hatred against women are unfortunately widespread, said Jacqueline de Quattro (FDP/VD). In her view, an extension of the criminal provision would send out a clear signal that incitement to violence and hatred on the grounds of gender would be just as intolerable as incitement to violence on racist, anti-Semitic or homophobic grounds.
Only the SVP spoke out against the amendment to the penal code in the National Council. Spokesperson Barbara Steinemann (ZH) pointed out that there are already criminal offenses that apply to hate speech. Furthermore, not every unpleasant behavior should be punishable by the penal code. The article of the Criminal Code in question serves to protect minorities.
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