In 2021, on the occasion of its 15th anniversary, the association VIOLENCE QUE FAIRE created and launched the public awareness podcast Poussière.
The aim of the podcast is to give a voice to survivors of domestic abuse and combine their stories with contributions from experts in the field. Each episode is approximately 15 minutes long and focuses on a topic related to domestic abuse. Poussière aims to raise awareness of the different types of domestic abuse such as physical, economic, psychological and sexual, and the specific issues involved. All episodes of the Poussière podcast are available on this page and it is only available in French.
Dust is made up of the microfibres of everything in our daily lives. It accumulates unnoticed but by the time it becomes visible, it’s formed a large pile. A single fibre of dust measures less than 500 micrometres, but when it builds up it can quickly cover large areas.
Like dust, domestic abuse is gradual and often hidden. Abuse can creep into a relationship that started off well.
In Switzerland, one woman in five is physically and/or sexually abused by her partner at some point in her life. Approximately 40% suffer psychological abuse (source: study by Gillioz et al. 1997, page 10 of BFEG information sheet A4). In 2020, the police recorded 20,123 domestic violence offences, including 89 homicides or attempted homicides. The vast majority (73.5%) of these offences were committed within a current or former relationship and the majority of victims were women (current couple: 76.1%, former couple: 78.7%). Although these statistics show that the majority of domestic violence victims are women, men or non-binary people can also be victims, just as women or non-binary people can be perpetrators.
The website www.violencequefaire.ch and its online counselling service are intended for anyone living in French-speaking Switzerland who is confronted with domestic abuse, regardless of age, sexual orientation or gender identity.