Swiss voters approve tough anti-paedophile law

Monday, December 1, 2008 at 10:12 am

Swiss voters on Sunday (November 30) approved plans to let the state distribute heroin distribution to registered addicts but rejected a proposal to decriminalise cannabis.

Voters also defied ministers to approve a tough law that allows victims to bring charges against paedophile abusers without any cut-off period, the ATS news agency reported.

Switzerland has prescribed heroin to registered addicts on a trial basis for the past 10 years in a bid to curb the open drugs scene that flourished in its cities during the 1980s and early 1990s.

The policy is part of a so-called “four pillar” strategy combining repression, prevention, treatment and risk reduction.

More than two thirds of voters (68.1 percent) approved the extension of the policy, ATS reported.

However, voters showed there was a limit to their liberal stance on drugs by massively rejecting a proposal to decriminalise cannabis.

Switzerland is the heaviest user of cannabis in Europe according to a recent study but the proposal to decriminalise the drug was dismissed by 63.2 percent of voters, ATS said.

In anticipation of a “no” vote, the Pro Juventute youth group along with the Federation of Swiss Youth Clubs and teachers unions called for people under the age of 18 caught using cannabis to face fines and drug prevention treatment and counselling rather than criminal action, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported.

The third controversial issue facing the Swiss electorate concerned the so-called “White March” anti-paedophile initiative, allowing victims to bring charges against abusers without any cut-off period.

This bill secured the support of 51.9 percent of the electorate, about 1.2 million voters, ATS said.

All major parties except the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) had rejected the proposal, pointing to revisions made to the penal code in June that allows child abuse victims to file charges until they are 33 years old.

Child sex abuse is a growing concern in Switzerland, where four men were arrested in September over an alleged Internet paedophile network said to involve up to 600 Germans.

Four Swiss men were arrested for “acts of a sexual nature” against children, and for producing pornographic films and images involving young girls.

The German-language forum featured accounts from different men about their experiences with young girls and how best to ‘groom’ them for pornographic ends, the authorities said.

(Agencies)

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Swiss voters approve tough anti-paedophile law

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