Victim rate by selected offences

Should a group of the permanent resident population have above-average victim rates for a selection of violent offences (common assault, threatening behaviour and coercion) this may be an indication of insufficient integration in society.

Offences related to domestic violence were excluded from this analysis as they concern a separate issue. Other types of relationship between the victims and persons charged are not taken into account here. This indicator shows men and women separately because their situations are different. Age also has an influence. As victimisation surveys have shown, young men are more likely to be victims of offences as their life style in public spaces is different to that of women and the elderly (staying out later at night, for example) [Killias et al., Précis de criminologie, Berne, 2011, 223-225].

Violence towards a person can indicate a lack of recognition that they are part of society (see also results on the indicator Experience of racial discrimination). Alternatively, although the risk of falling victim to a violent offence increases the more a person goes out, it could also be indicative of a person who is well integrated, with a network of acquaintances outside the home or of someone who is at ease socially, allowing them to go out more often in the evenings, exposing them in turn to greater risk [Killias et al., Précis de criminologie, Berne, 2011, 223-225].

The results need to be interpreted with caution because apart from the person’s sex and age, no socio-economic data are available in the police crime statistics (PCS) that would enable causality to be assessed.

Male victims

The rate of male victims of common assault (art. 123 SCC) is 5‰ in the permanent resident population. The result broken down by nationality shows that male citizens from EU28/EFTA member countries have the closest rate to that of the Swiss citizens (4‰ and 5‰ respectively). Nationals from other European countries and those from the rest of the world have a probability that is almost 2 and 3 times greater of being victims of common assault compared to Swiss citizens (7‰ compared with 11‰). With regard to threatening behaviour (art. 180 SCC), the results by nationality show comparable ratios. With regard to coercion (art. 181 SCC), the results are never more than 1‰ and male citizens from the rest of the world have a slightly lower rate than those from other European countries.

Female victims

Among women, the victim rate for common assault is more than three times higher for citizens from the rest of the world than for Swiss women (4‰ compared with more than 1‰). With regard to threatening behaviour, women from the rest of the world have a rate of 6‰, followed by women from other European countries with a rate of 4‰. For this type of offence, citizens from EU28/EFTA member countries have a rate that is less than 2 times that of Swiss citizens (4‰ compared with more than 2‰). With regard to coercion, the rates are almost identical in the three groups of nationalities.