Launched in 2021, the Ombuds Office Children’s Rights Switzerland supports children and adolescents by providing low-threshold, child-friendly legal advice and intermediary services in complex proceedings. In doing so, it helps young people protect and uphold their rights. For the first time, a new impact analysis by Interface Politikstudien Forschung Beratung, commissioned by the Ombuds Office, illustrates the significant positive effect this work has on children, those in their immediate circle and society as a whole.
For example, from its establishment up to the end of 2023, the Ombuds Office Children’s Rights Switzerland has advised in 709 cases involving children, thus supporting 1,002 children and adolescents. The number of consultations has increased year on year. In 2023, 285 people received advice, with 365 young people involved. The newly published impact analysis shows that the legal advice and intermediary services provided by the Ombuds Office bolster the confidence and self-efficacy of children and adolescents. The legal advice offered makes the children and adolescents involved feel that they are being taken seriously. Thanks to child-friendly communication, they gain a better understanding of their situation and their rights.This reduces their sense of helplessness and anxiety. Finally, legal advice and intermediary action between children and specialists trigger a tangible change in the young people's situations, setting them on a path towards a successful future.
Economic benefit and positive effects on the environment and society
The impact analysis demonstrates that the support provided by the Ombuds Office goes beyond the children concerned, relieving the burden on those in their immediate circle too – particularly their families. Better childcare solutions enable parents, often mothers, to increase their workload, which helps them to boost their family income. Siblings also benefit from a more stable family atmosphere and better conditions for development. The strain on institutions like school and care facilities is also alleviated when the well-being of children improves.
The economic benefit of the Ombuds Office is particularly worth highlighting. Its advisory services play a part in preventing violence and psychological stress, which in turn leads indirectly to a long-term reduction in health and social costs. The analysis shows that the support provided by the Ombuds Office helps reduce the costs of housing, doctor’s visits, psychological therapy, bridging programmes in education or social benefits over the long term. The examples set out in the study illustrate how the legal advice and intermediary services offered help to avoid an average of around CHF 170,000 per child in potential costs. This means that, if such an impact is achieved even with just six children and adolescents, the benefit outweighs the investment in the Ombuds Office of CHF 1 million each year. Six children correspond to just about 2% of the children and adolescents supported by the Ombuds Office in 2023.
Service must be maintained
The Ombuds Office Children’s Rights Switzerland carries out valuable work that not only strengthens the protection and promotion of children’s rights, prevents injustice and boosts resilience in children, but also yields considerable benefits for society and economic stability. The impact analysis underscores the added value an institution like this offers for society as a whole.
The continued existence of a national, low-threshold ombuds office for children and adolescents has not yet been assured. The current plan is to run the Ombuds Office Children’s Rights Switzerland as a pilot project until the end of 2025, with the aim of then handing over this mandate to a public ombuds office – as called for by Noser’s motion on an “Ombuds Office for Children’s Rights”, which was passed by the Swiss national parliament. Securing the future of the Ombuds Office by establishing a legal basis and obtaining corresponding financing would be a significant step towards guaranteeing long-term legal protection for children and adolescents in Switzerland.
«With this impact analysis, we finally have science-based evidence that our work makes a comprehensive, preventative contribution for children, families and society. The fact that, by supporting even just six children and adolescents, we can achieve a net positive in terms of costs surprised even me. I hope that these findings will help raise awareness of the political importance of our work and ultimately lay the foundations for a public ombuds office for children’s rights at the legislative level and help secure financing.»
Christian Zünd, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Ombuds Office Children’s Rights Switzerland
