Domestic violence law divides Graubünden parliament as 5,500 demand more protection

Graubünden’s cantonal parliament debated a new domestic violence law on Monday, 19 October, exposing a divide over whether existing powers are sufficient. The proposal would strengthen prevention, improve cooperation between specialist services and establish a cantonal database. All parties represented in the Grand Council apart from the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) consider a separate law necessary. By early Monday evening, deliberations remained unfinished, with the remaining articles scheduled for Tuesday morning.

The scale of the problem gives the debate urgency. In 2025, Graubünden recorded 260 offences linked to domestic violence, which affects women, children and men. Parliamentarians agreed on one principle: violence has no place in society and must not be tolerated. Their disagreement concerns which additional powers and measures the canton needs to prevent it.

Acting before violence occurs

The proposal envisages investment of up to CHF 330,000 and annual costs of CHF 260,000. Campaigns and projects would expand prevention work, while professionals and services dealing with domestic violence would cooperate more closely. An anonymised cantonal database covering perpetrators and victims is also planned.

For supporters, the central purpose is to give Graubünden an explicit legal basis for preventive action, rather than limiting its role to responding after violence has occurred. The question is not simply how incidents are dealt with, but what the canton can do beforehand.

Social Democratic parliamentarian Silvia Bisculm Jörg stressed that domestic violence was a major problem across all sections of society and throughout Switzerland. She argued that a legal foundation was needed to do more on prevention and the coordination of professionals working in the field.

Green parliamentarian Nicolas Zogg focused on the distinction between the proposal and the existing police law. In his account, the latter takes effect only once an offence has been committed. The new legislation, he argued, would allow intervention before violence occurs. The debate therefore turns partly on how early the canton should act, and on what legal authority.

Are existing powers enough?

The SVP shares the goal of combating domestic violence but disputes the case for another law. Its parliamentarian Reto Rauch argued that the necessary legal instruments already existed, citing the threat management system introduced last year. From his party’s perspective, a lack of legal powers is not the problem.

Franz Sepp Caluori of the Centre party disagreed. Police could neither collect all the necessary data nor provide funding, he argued, making a separate legal basis essential. He also emphasised the proposal’s limited scope: the law contains just seven articles.

Behind the dispute over another piece of legislation lies a practical question about responsibilities. Can the police and the existing threat management system cover what is needed, or should they be supplemented by a defined framework for prevention, data collection and financial support?

For Graubünden, the proposal would have both organisational and financial consequences. The planned recurring expenditure is intended to support better coordination between the specialist services involved. For residents, the debate concerns how the canton organises its response to violence at home, as well as whether it has sufficient authority to work on prevention.

Disagreement over gender and origin

Parties also placed different emphasis on how domestic violence should be understood. Representatives of the left and the Greens described it as a problem caused predominantly by men. Green parliamentarian Lydia Tobler told the chamber that 95 per cent of perpetrators were male, using that figure to support her argument.

SVP representatives instead pointed to the proportion of people of foreign origin among recorded perpetrators, putting it at more than 53 per cent. Rauch argued that measures should focus there; his party colleague Rico Rieder characterised the phenomenon as an imported problem.

These contrasting references to gender and origin underline the differences in the parties’ explanations. A proportion alone, however, does not establish a cause. The figures also need to be kept distinct when assessing the situation in Graubünden: the 260 recorded for 2025 refers to offences, not the number of people or households affected.

Petition seeks funding for a women’s refuge

Alongside the parliamentary debate, several organisations made their demand for stronger action visible by handing over 5,500 signatures calling for funding for a refuge for women who have experienced domestic violence. Their petition brought safe accommodation and the immediate protection of those affected into focus alongside prevention.

The petition and the draft law address related but different needs. The legislation seeks to improve the legal foundations for prevention and cooperation. The signatories are asking for financial support for a place of safety. The parliamentary proceedings so far do not amount to a funding commitment for that refuge.

Graubünden’s politicians therefore face two closely connected tasks: preventing violence wherever possible and enabling those affected to find protection. The disagreement is over the additional legal framework required, while the petition puts a separate demand for practical support before them.

The immediate next step remains the completion of the parliamentary debate. The outstanding articles were due to be considered on Tuesday, 20 October. Until that discussion is concluded, the proposal’s passage remains unresolved, and the request for refuge funding should not be confused with a decision already taken.