Various non-governmental organisations in Switzerland provide support free of charge to individuals with specific needs. Their assistance covers a wide range of topics, including:
- Social counseling and integration
- Persons in detention
- Persons without residence permit
- Woman and girls – Sexual and gender-based violence
- Forced marriage
- Domestic violence
- LGBTIQ+
- Human trafficking
- Children and families
- Missing persons
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Racism and fight against discrimination
- Health
- Emergency services
The following sections summarise, in a non-exhaustive way, many of these supports offered to asylum seekers and refugees in Switzerland. Available languages are indicated when resources are not offered in English.
For more information and resources on various topics, you can download the following applications to your phone:
- I-Need: Provides information about various activities and support services in multiple Swiss cities and regions.
- Sui SRK: Provides information about the asylum system and life in Switzerland, as well as resources to help you manage stress, chronic pain, and daily challenges.
For general and easily accessible information about life in Switzerland, you can visit: ch.ch Easy Answers about Life in Switzerland.
Social counseling and integration
- Regional Caritas offices (available in German and French): Offer social counseling as well as further services and projects to foster integration, access to work and education, equal opportunities and participation of asylum-seekers and refugees.
- Regional HEKS/EPER offices: Offer social counseling and further integration services to support asylum seekers and refugees.
- Regional SAH/OSEO/SOS offices (available in German, French and Italian): Offer social counseling and further services to support integration and access to work.
Persons in detention
- humanrights.ch (available in German and French): Counseling services for persons in detention and their families.
NB: The counseling is provided exclusively in German and English.
Persons without a residence permit
- Sans-papiers Platform Switzerland (available in German, French and Italian): List of legal and social counseling services for persons living in Switzerland without a residence permit.
Women and girls / Sexual and gender-based violence
- FIZ: Advocacy and support for migrant woman and victims of trafficking, including counseling services.
If you need help, please call: +41 44 436 90 00
- Brava: Counseling for women victims of violence, for relatives and friends.
If you need help, please call: +41 76 725 91 21 (Tuesday-Thursday, 2:00-4:00 pm)
- DAO: List of shelters for adult women and their children who are affected by physical, psychological and/or sexual violence, and who are in need of protection and counseling.
- Network against female genital cutting Switzerland: List of many regional contact points on the topic of female genital mutilation to support you with health, legal and other questions.
Forced marriage
- Service against forced marriage (available in German, French and Italian): Counseling for people affected by forced marriage, for relatives and friends.
If you need help, please call: 0800 800 007
Domestic violence
- Victim Support Switzerland: List including victim support counseling centres and emergency assistance.
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- Additionally, the platform covers numerous other topics (Threats; Family violence; Domestic violence; Bodily harm; Human trafficking; Robbery; Sexual abuse; Sexual assault; Stalking; Homicide; Rape; Traffic accident; Forced marriage; Other situations).
- Centre neuchâtelois de médecine des violences (available in French): Counseling for victims of violence (domestic violence but also community violence in public spaces, at work or at school).
LGBTIQ+
- Queeramnesty Switzerland (available in German): Information, counseling and referral services for LGBTI asylum-seekers and refugees.
- LGBTIQ Helpline: Advisory services for queer people and hate crime reporting platform.
- Transgender Network Switzerland (TGNS) (available in German, French and Italian): Legal counseling for trans people.
- Pink Cross: Counseling and legal aid for gay and bisexual men* (available in German and French).
- Checkpoint Zurich | Checkpoint Geneva (available in German and French) | Checkpoint Vaud: Health and counseling center for LGBTIQ+ people, providing medical care, HIV testing, mental health support, and safe spaces.
- Du Bist Du (available in German): Counseling, peer support, and educational programs aimed at creating inclusive environments for young LGBTIQ+ individuals in Switzerland.
Human trafficking
- Swiss Platform against Human Trafficking: Swiss-wide network of non-governmental organizations that support victims of human trafficking.
Members associations advising and supporting victims of human trafficking: Antenna MayDay, Ticino (available in Italian); Astrée, Lausanne; CSP, Geneva (available in French); FIZ Fachstelle Frauenhandel und Frauenmigration, Zurich.
Children and families
- International Social Service Switzerland: Individual assistance and legal counseling provided to unaccompanied children.
- Alliance for the Rights of Migrant Children (ADEM): Counseling and referral services to partner organisations.
- Pro Juventute (available in German, French and Italian): Counseling and support services for parents and caregivers available 24/7.
- Child Protection Switzerland (available in German, French and Italian): Counseling and support services for parents and caregivers.
- Missing children Switzerland: List of organisations active in child protection throughout Switzerland, including emergency services.
Missing persons
- Swiss Red Cross: Tracing service for missing person if members of your family went missing.
- Armée du Salut-Heilsarmee (available in German and French): Tracing service for missing person if members of your family went missing.
- SSI – International Social Service Switzerland: Family tracing service if members of your family went missing.
Older persons
- Age and Migration by HEKS/EPER (AltuM): Information sessions, individual counseling and recreational, sports and cultural activities for elderly people with a migration background.
Per cantons/regions: Aargau, Baselland and Basek-Stadt, Romandie, Eastern Switzerland, Zurich and Schaffausen.
Persons with disabilities
- Pro Infirmis (available in German, French and Italian): Wide range of services, including financial support, counseling, and direct assistance in daily life.
- Procap (available in German, French and Italian): Extensive range of services, including legal advice and assistance with accessibility.
- Inclusion Handicap (available in German and French): Legal advice and advocacy, focusing on accessibility and inclusion.
- DIMA (available in German): Offers deaf and hard of hearing people new opportunities for professional and social integration.w
- Swiss Federation of the Deaf (SGB-FSS) (available in German, French and Italian): Support to individuals with hearing impairments and legal advice.
- Swiss Paraplegic Foundation: Offers medical, psychological, and financial support for people with spinal cord injuries.
Racism and hate speech
- Network Racism: List of organisations throughout Switzerland offering information, psychosocial advice and legal advice to those affected by racism and racial discrimination and their relatives.
If you want to report an incident or receive assistance, please fill out the following form: Meldeformular (network-racism.ch)
- CSP Vaud: Counseling “Permanence Info-Conseil Racisme” for victims and witnesses of an act of racial discrimination (available in French).
- FIDS-FOIS (available in German and French): Counseling and reporting mechanisms for victims of anti-Muslim racism in Switzerland.
Other associations offering counseling and reporting mechanisms for victims of anti-Muslim racism:
- BMK (available in German) in the Canton of Basel.
- DIAC (available in German and French) in the Canton of Geneva.
- Tasamouh (available in French) in the Canton of Bern.
- VIOZ (available in German) in the Canton of Zurich.
- UPAF (available in French): Helpline, listening and advice for victims of anti-black racism.
- SIG-FISC (available in German, French and Italian): Counseling and reporting mechanisms for victims of antisemitism.
- org: Offers legal service and representation to Roma refugees.
- Stop Hate Speech (available in German and French) and Reporting Platform for Online Racist Hate Speech: To report online hate speech and online racist speech.
- Brochure Hate speech/hate crime – What you need to know about hate crime providing relevant information and resources to fight hate speech and hate crime related to several topics.
Health
Reproductive health
- ch: Offers up-to-date and medically accurate information in many languages on a range of sexual health issues. Personal, confidential advice is available from your doctor or the sexual health service centres (available in German, French, Italian).
Mental health
- SPIRIT – Scaling-up Psychological Interventions in Refugees in Switzerland: Offers peer to peer support to reduce stress and help copying with everyday obstacles to people with permit N, F, S or B refugee (registration here).
- Psy4Asyl (available in German): Offers therapy, counseling and group activities to improve mental health to asylum seekers, recognised refugees, people with provisional admission, with S-status and having received a negative asylum decision living in the canton of Aargau.
- SantéPsy (available in German, French and Italian): Platform providing access to mental health support services for people living in Switzerland. List of mental health professionals and resources available throughout Switzerland.