Swedes Reveal They Are Sick of Being Confused with Switzerland

People around the world confuse Sweden and Switzerland. But now in a film on social media a group of Swedes are shown telling the Swiss just how different they really are. With their provocative video, a Swiss women’s rights organisation wants to make prostitution in Switzerland the subject of debate. In Sweden, prostitution has been illegal for 20 years. In Switzerland, it remains legal to this day.

On July 1st, 1998, prostitution in Sweden became illegal. Ever since then, anyone who pays for sex will be prosecuted. In Switzerland, on the other hand, prostitution is regulated but has never properly been debated. “It is our wish that the entire system of prostitution in Switzerland be challenged,” says Andrea Gisler, President of the Frauenzentrale, Zürich. With this as their motive, the organisation has launched a new campaign - exactly 20 years after Sweden enacted their law prohibiting the purchase of sexual services.

"Sweden has always been ahead of Switzerland in terms of rights for women“, says Andrea Gisler. "We are 20 years behind, it’s high time to deal with this issue in Switzerland.“

In the video “A message from Sweden to Switzerland”, a number of Swedes wonder why the two countries are constantly confused with one another, even though they have many differences, especially when it comes to women’s issues. These include the introduction of women’s voting rights, maternity leave, as well the regulation of prostitution. The film was a co-production of the Swedish filmmaker, Julia Lindström and the Stockholm production company Social Club, and was conceived by Publicis Zürich.