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Dear Ms. Maurer,
As we learned from the media today, the 2008 Equality Award was given to the women's shelters in Zurich.
We at VeV also find the work of women's shelters important and right.
Bloss: We do not think it is right that one-sided policies promoting women are repeatedly pursued under the guise of "equality".
We believe that equality means that both sides must be treated equally.
And this is precisely what is not the case here.
There are around two dozen women's shelters throughout Switzerland. In the canton of Zurich alone, there are four, and in the city of Zurich, two.
As you can see from your own police statistics, in approximately 20% of all cases of domestic violence, men are the victims.
These are not fantasy figures, but confirmed information from police statistics.
These 20% of male victims have NOT A SINGLE men's shelter available to them. Neither in Zurich nor anywhere else in Switzerland.
These 20% of male victims have to figure out for themselves where to stay and how to escape the violence.
Among these men are also fathers who cannot escape the violence without abandoning their children.
Experts agree that the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher.
We can therefore assume that the city of Zurich is failing at least 20% of its affected citizens in the name of equality!
It is therefore incomprehensible to us how the Zurich City Council can further exacerbate this existing inequality under the guise of "equality".
Women's shelters are well-established and widely supported.
Wouldn't it have been more equitable to invest the prize money in this case in building a suitable infrastructure for men affected by violence, and especially fathers?
We at VeV are disappointed that in the city of Zurich, equality is still understood as promoting women. Only when equal rights encompass both women and men will equality become a reality.
We therefore demand that the city's Office for Equal Opportunities be staffed more evenly as soon as possible. According to the website, there are currently 10 women employed there, compared to only one man. This imbalance must be rectified immediately.
We further demand that the city of Zurich immediately consider how and in what form a suitable position can be created for men affected by violence, and especially fathers with children.
We know that the city of Zurich has the only specialist agency for men affected by violence, but there is still a lack of suitable accommodation options for the men affected.
We at VeV are happy to contribute our expertise in this context.