Domestic violence has a cost
Political choices and the costs of domestic violence
At the level of political decision-makers, it makes sense to allocate the resources available, whether in terms of personnel, structures or infrastructure, in line with political objectives or international commitments.
To this end, if the political objectives or international commitments are relatively easy to define or identify, the appropriate allocation depends on the quality of the information available.
The Federal Office for Gender Equality ( FOGE ) lists a large number of reports, studies, etc. relating to domestic violence (linhttps://www.ebg.admin.ch/en/publications-violence-enk).
2013 study on the costs of violence in relationships (2011 figures)
In Switzerland, the costs of domestic violence were estimated in a 2013 study commissioned from INFRAS by the Federal Office for Gender Equality. This report is available in long form or as a summary).
“Tous les coûts occasionnés par la violence dans les relations de couple n’ont pas pu être calculés dans le cadre de cette recherche. Il manque en effet notamment les bases de données nécessaires pour déterminer les coûts des procédures judiciaires, les coûts des offres de soutien destinées aux enfants exposés à la violence conjugale, y compris les problèmes de santé qui découlent de cette violence. Or, il pourrait s’agir de montants non négligeables, car l’exposition à la violence a de vastes répercussions, qui peuvent durer toute une vie. Sans oublier que les enfants ainsi exposés encourent un risque très important de devenir à leur tour victimes ou auteur·e·s d’actes de violence à l’âge adulte.”
Extract from the foreword by the Director of the FOGE
Results of the study in figures
The main costs calculated are
| Type of cost for domestic violence within a couple | Estimated amount in millions of CHF |
|---|---|
| Direct tangible costs for 2011 | 124 – 186 |
| Indirect tangible costs for 2011 | 40 – 102 |
| Total tangible costs (annual costs for 2011) | 164 – 287 |
| Intangible costs (loss of quality of life, lifelong costs) | 1969 |
| Total annual costs of domestic violence within a couple | n/a |
The authors of the report point out that tangible costs (for one year) and intangible costs (over a lifetime) cannot be added together.
This is why, in political presentations of the annual costs of domestic/domestic violence, figures of between 164 and 287 million are used rather than an annual cost of between 2’133 and 2’256 million.
Extrapolation to the costs of domestic violence
In the method used by the authors of the 2013 study, they used an average factor of 75% to represent the costs within the couple compared with the costs of domestic violence.
In addition, in an exchange of e-mails with the INFRAS institute in November 2020, the latter admitted that, if the tangible and intangible costs cannot be added together, all other things being equal, it is legitimate to add them together. The BFEG was then informed of this possibility.
| Type of cost for domestic violence | Estimated amount in millions of CHF |
|---|---|
| Direct tangible costs for 2011 | 165 – 248 |
| Indirect tangible costs for 2011 | 53 – 136 |
| Total tangible costs (annual costs for 2011) | 218 – 384 |
| Intangible costs (loss of quality of life, lifelong costs) | 2’625 |
| Total annual costs of domestic violence (all other things being equal in 2011) | 2’843 – 3’009 |
Domestic violence generates annual costs of at least 3 billion, although it has not been possible to put a figure on all the costs (see the quote from the President of the FOGE mentioned above).
Between the figures used at political level and the estimate, the latter is ten times more costly to society. Economically, it makes sense to allocate substantial resources to studying and preventing domestic violence and punishing the perpetrators.