What can I do about my ex-husband's harassment?
What can I do about my ex-husband's harassment?
"Divorced a few years ago, my ex-husband keeps texting, emailing and calling me, day and night. He can't stand the idea of me starting my life again without him. I've already changed my phone number but it's no use. I feel harassed. Can I lodge a complaint?
Marina, Bernex
In Switzerland, protection against harassment is provided directly by the Civil Code (CC) - and not by the Criminal Code (CP) - through article 28b CC. In the event of threats, violence or harassment, the victim can apply to a civil judge to request that the perpetrator be prohibited from frequenting certain places, approaching the 'victim', contacting her by telephone, in writing or by electronic means, or causing her any other disturbance.
With regard to the definition of harassment, case law and legal doctrine hold that harassment includes behaviour aimed at constantly seeking a certain physical or relational proximity, stalking, the repeated sending of unwanted gifts, the continuous sending of text messages, messages or letters, or obsessive waiting in the workplace. The behaviour complained of must present a certain degree of intensity or frequency.
A request must therefore be made to the competent authority to issue one or more removal or prohibition orders. These may be accompanied by authorisation to use the services of the police in the event of non-compliance, as well as the threat of the penalty provided for in Article 292 of the Criminal Code, which punishes anyone who fails to comply with a decision by the authorities with a fine.
The judge thus has broad discretionary powers and must take account of the principle of proportionality in order to order measures that are appropriate, necessary and adapted to the specific case and that do not unnecessarily infringe the fundamental rights of the perpetrator.
From a criminal point of view, depending on the perpetrator's behaviour or the content of the messages sent, certain offences may be considered, such as insults, threats or improper use of telecommunications equipment, provided that the infringement is of a certain quantitative or qualitative intensity.
