(c) Landbote 27.5.2011. By Karin Landolt.
The Federal Council has decided to accelerate the implementation of joint parental custody as the norm. For men's organizations, this is "the beginning of a new gender debate."
Back in January, Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga (Social Democratic Party) wanted to link the legislative amendment, which would have placed parents on an equal footing in divorce proceedings, with the urgently needed reform of family maintenance payments. This was primarily demanded by women's organizations, as divorce often leads to poverty, especially for mothers. This linkage, in turn, outraged the Association for Joint Parenting (Gecobi), initiated by divorced fathers, which advocates for a positive parent-child relationship even after separation or divorce. "We acknowledge that improvements are needed regarding maintenance payments," says its president, Oliver Hunziker, who has been actively campaigning for joint custody as the norm for seven years. "But this issue would likely have delayed the introduction of joint custody for several more years."
Gecobi and the men's organizations that supported her were heard. Sommaruga convened a roundtable in April to hear the voices of all interest groups. And now the two proposals are to be decoupled; the introduction of joint custody is on the home stretch.
Alimony Payments Unresolved:
Hunziker remains unmoved by the fact that a Federal Councillor with a female majority took up the issue and acted accordingly, addressing a male-dominated concern. "I expect the Federal Council to pursue Swiss policy, not gender policy, and therefore act objectively. Gender representation shouldn't play a role, and that's exactly what has happened." Hunziker stated that joint custody had been thoroughly discussed and everyone agreed. However, the issue of alimony payments had barely been addressed. "It would have sent a disastrous message to divorced fathers, and also in terms of gender equality, if the custody decision had been sidelined."
Men's organizations naturally wanted to offer their support regarding child support payments, under which the mother usually suffers most. However, they argued that it shouldn't simply be about further burdening divorced fathers, but rather about distributing the costs fairly. Just as Hunziker envisions a system where parents are generally responsible for childcare 50/50 in divorce law, financial support should be regulated in the same way. "And whoever provides more care receives more support from the other parent." For him, the success regarding joint custody is "only the beginning of a range of changes concerning gender equality.".
This stance on equality therefore no longer means only that women are equal in their rights and opportunities, but also that they are held accountable for financial family support. This aligns perfectly with the position of the younger generation of SP women, who recently expressed their intention to overturn the "outdated attitude of the older generation of SP women," who always "saw women as victims and men as perpetrators." They, too, demanded that women and men tackle gender issues together.
“Of course, women and men should shape the future together,” says Jacqueline Fehr, an established Swiss politician already considered outdated by the younger generation of women in the Social Democratic Party (SP) and the Young Socialists (Juso). This is due, in no small part, to her long-standing opposition to joint custody as the norm and her continued skepticism regarding the legal changes. Nevertheless, she doesn't seem to want to stand in the way of the younger generation when she says – as she recently did at a panel discussion – “It's good when young women no longer see themselves as victims and want to redefine gender relations and partnership policies together with young men.” She adds that she would be “happy” when the day comes that the SP abolishes its women's section, which was originally established to fight for equality, because it is no longer needed.