Ideas of tolerance vary greatly in Switzerland
Published: Sunday, Sep 1st 2024, 09:10
Back to Live Feed
Tolerance is a major concern for the majority of the Swiss population. But according to a new study, opinions differ on what kind of tolerance is important - between women and men and political orientation.
According to a survey published on Sunday by the opinion research institute Sotomo, tolerance towards other lifestyles is the most important issue for women (72%). For men, on the other hand, tolerance towards those with different political views comes first (68%). This point, in turn, is only important to 52% of women.
The gender-specific discrepancy is particularly clear when it comes to the issue of tolerance towards other sexual orientations and gender identities: While 66% and 50% of women respectively consider these two issues to be very important, only 49% and 32% of men are of the same opinion.
Left-right divide
A similar picture emerges in this question in the party-political breakdown of responses: While a large majority of SP and Green sympathizers surveyed consider tolerance towards other sexual orientations (around 85%) and other gender identities (around 70%) to be important, only 33% of SVP sympathizers consider other sexual orientations and 14% other gender identities to be important.
The most important issues for SVP sympathizers are tolerance towards those with different political views (65%) and tolerance towards their own way of life (58%). These two concerns are similarly important in the SP and Green camps. However, tolerance towards other cultures and ethnic groups (87%) and other lifestyles (85%) are most important to the left.
SVP voters misunderstood
Sotomo writes that the reason for this result is that SVP voters may often feel misunderstood in the political landscape. Accordingly, 70 percent of SVP sympathizers stated that they had experienced intolerance due to their political stance. Among supporters of the left, the figure is only 44 to 48 percent.
The low importance of tolerance towards other sexual orientations and gender identities reflects the SVP base's skepticism towards socially liberal changes. In left-wing circles, on the other hand, values such as social justice and openness towards other cultures are an important part of their political identity and agenda.
Young women most affected
According to their own statements, intolerance is most commonly experienced by young women between the ages of 18 and 35. 53% stated that they have such experiences on a weekly basis. Among young men, the figure is 43 percent.
According to Sotomo, one explanation for this could be that young women and men are confronted with intolerance in different places: While both are mainly confronted in public spaces and in social and traditional media, young women are confronted significantly more in the workplace and in their private lives.
Social Media und Canceln
Supporters of the left-wing parties see hostility on social media (around 85%) as the greatest threat to tolerance and openness in Switzerland, followed by conspiracy theories (around 70%), anti-Semitism and misogyny and Islamophobia (around 50% on average).
For SVP sympathizers, the greatest danger comes from having opinions canceled (50 percent) and the prejudice of "old white men" (51 percent). At 35%, these respondents were also the most likely to have been canceled because they were accused of unacceptable behavior. For all other parties, the figure was between 11 and 14 percent.
A total of 3,528 people in German- and French-speaking Switzerland were surveyed for the study between May 14 and 27 and the responses were weighted by Sotomo. The confidence interval is +/- 1.7 percent.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic