Around 10,000 people, mostly women, gathered in Bern under this year's motto ‘Ways out of violence’ to demonstrate against sexual violence. Women still suffer gender-based violence at least twice as often as men, from harassment in everyday life to murder and feminicide.

This must finally stop!
For years, the international campaign has been coordinated in Switzerland by FRIEDA under the title "16 Days against Violence against Women". Numerous (women's) organisations, victim support centres and social services are taking part.
"Experiences of violence are individual, but prevention and combating must be collective. The decisive factor is how society reacts to violence - this influences whether violence is prevented and those affected are supported."

For the first time since 2019, IAW members were able to meet in person again. They came from Europe, North America, Africa and Asia to Bankya near Sofia in Bulgaria. It was also possible to attend virtually.
September 6, 2024
Opening speech with Iliana Balabanova, President of the European Women's Lobby EWL, an umbrella organization with around 2000 member organizations from 26 countries.
September 7, 2024
“Women Networking” seminar with representatives of IAW organizations from four continents. They reported on their contacts and cooperation with each other and with other organizations in everyday life, see flyer .The event was held in English, plus Zoom translation into French.

Heidi Bodmer, Ursula Nakamura, Esther Suter and Dr. Sybille von Heydebrand were the representatives of ADF-SVF

"Women in public spaces at last".

Joëlle Moret, Equal Opportunities Officer in Lausanne, reports on this successful project of the city of Lausanne. "Since 2019, the city administration has been pursuing a project to make women visible in public spaces and thus inscribe their contributions in public memory.

The first concrete changes are already visible. Street names are important. They tell the story of a city and shape the imagination of its population. At the beginning of 2022, 100 of the 691 streets in Lausanne were named after a man and only 3 after a woman. The fact that women are practically invisible in public spaces suggests that they have not also contributed to the development of the city of Lausanne.

Feminising public space also means anchoring the contribution of women in the collective memory..."
see the website of the City of Lausanne.

Photo: Joëlle Moret during her presentation on 8 June 2024

100 women who made Lausanne

"In the book "100 women who made Lausanne", the aim is to discover or rediscover female personalities from history. These are pioneering women:

Photographer, tennis player, municipal councillor or film director, who were interviewed and/or filmed in their time. These archive extracts take us into the lives of these emblematic personalities.

The drawings by Lausanne artist Hélène Becquelin illustrate these hundred extraordinary stories with poetry and lightness, making "100 femmes qui ont fait Lausanne" a book that is as informative as it is inspiring."

Editions Antipodes Lausanne.

Several of these women have already been or will soon be memorialised in Lausanne's public space by erecting plaques or naming streets,

see interactive map of the city of Lausanne.

"We have won!

The association of the Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection... have won a historic victory at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The Court ruled this morning in the case "Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland" that Switzerland is violating the human rights of the older women because the state is not taking the necessary steps to combat global warming. Specifically, the court found a violation of Article 8 (right to private and family life). The Court also found that the action brought by the association, which currently represents over 2,500 women aged 64 and over, also has victim status. This is a huge victory not only for all the older women, but for access to justice across Europe. Media Release

Rosmarie Wydler was a main speaker at an ADF-SVF event 17 June 2023. 

Photos: Swiss Senior Women

Eva Herzog, President of the Council of States, invites the presidents of national (women's) organisations to the Federal Palace for International Women's Day.

Annemarie Heiniger represents ADF-SVF.

The event is a complete success, and Eva Herzog writes:

"What an inspiring, interesting, powerful and unforgettable Women's Day we spent together! So many different women from all regions exchanging views on topics such as women's financial independence or their international situation...
Let's take the momentum of 8 March with us!"

Click here for the official video of the day, recorded by Monika Flückiger and Christine Zwygart.

Unbelievable! One never thought that the tide would finally turn after several frustrating votes.
The voters did not allow themselves to be confused by the counter-propaganda, but instead sent a clear signal of solidarity. The votes of female voters were presumably decisive, as this is also a clear victory for the female population.

ADF-SVF demands that this historic referendum be implemented immediately and undiluted by the Federal Council and Parliament. ADF-SVF would particularly like to thank Gabriela Medici, social insurance specialist at the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, for her enormous commitment

 Photo SGB, Gabriela Medici, second person from the left. 

On 31 January 2024, the Federal Council adopted guidelines setting out the procedure and requirements for taking gender into account in federal studies and statistics. Knowledge about gender effects and gender-specific differences in federal studies and statistical data must

be improved.

We owe this to Eva Herzog, President of the Council of States and ADF-SVF member. With her   Motion 20.3588  she campaigned vehemently in favour of general, gender-specific data collection.

Eva Herzog presented this important initiative in her speech at the public ADF-SVF event  Invisible stumbling blocks for women (Unsichtbare Stolpersteine für Frauen) on 18 June 2022 in Basel.

"Here, as elsewhere, the aim is to find solutions that enable all people to

equal access to sustainable, vital resources for all people.

resources that are essential to life."  Bastienne Joerchel (La Marche Bleue).

All 3 speakers gave convincing and highly motivating speeches:

Rosmarie Wydler, Basel, Co-President of KlimaSeniorinnen

Agnieszka Kroskowska, Coordinator Social Justice, Helvetas

Bastienne Joerchel, Initiator of La Marche Bleue,
Invitation-flyer here.