BERN - The Federal Council has asked parliament to close a gap in accident insurance. Sexual assaults on unconscious people are not classed as accidents today. The draft amendment to the Accident Insurance Act would treat health harm from sexual violence as covered, whoever the victim is and whether or not they were conscious.
The consultation found broad support. The FDP, the Centre and the Greens backed the change, as did the Conference of Cantonal Social Directors and Brava, which campaigns against violence against women. The Centre called the present rule a shocking loophole.
Why the SVP voted against the draft
The Swiss People's Party was the clear opponent. It described the bill as a special solution that cuts against the logic of accident insurance, and it warned of extra administration and higher costs. Ministers are proceeding anyway. The point of the text, as they put it, is that the harm is real and the label in the statute should not decide whether treatment is paid.
What the change does not do
The draft is about insurance, not about the criminal code. It does not change how police investigate, and it does not set damages. It tells insurers to pay for the health consequences when the assault itself is the event. Parliament still has to pass the amendment before any of that is law.