Stalking to become separate Swiss criminal offence

Stalking or harassment will become enshrined in the Swiss penal code as a specific offence, after parliament approved the measure. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox According to parliamentarian Céline Vara, stalking causes psychological, physical and economic damage. The phenomenon has become more widespread in recent years, particularly as a result of social networking. + Lack of law on stalking bemoaned Children, teenagers and women are among the victims that have their lives "ruined" by stalking, the parliamentary debate heard. The Federal Council has also come out in favor of the project. However, Justice Minister Beat Jans warned against raising expectations too high. He also raised the challenges of implementing the new standard. Some parliamentarians were opposed to the measure, complaining either of the overly broad wording of the bill or believing the civil law code was adequate to deal with the problem. One alternative proposal was to strengthen ...