Hello. I live in the U.S. and I'm trying to write an essay for school that compares quite a few different things between the U.S. and Switzerland. I'm having a hard time finding the information I'm looking for though and was curious if you could help me come up with this information.


I'm looking for the following things.


The most widely used types of birth control in Switzerland


The average cost with and without insurance for both the pill and for the IUD implant in switzerland


Percentage of voters who support pro birth control laws or basically free birth control for everyone laws.


How extensive is the sex education for students ages 5-18. What is on the curriculum and where does the funding come from?


Are there those in switzerland that are against sex education in schools?


If you could provide this information or help find useful places to find this information. Id be very grateful.


While personal information is great, I'm really looking for information I can cite and has reliability.


Thanks again

Remember when I was at school and had to do a project comparing farming and crops in Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. That was several long sessions in the library. Wish I'd had Google but it wasn't founded until 22yrs later.

There are likely some government statistics which would be both helpful and easy to cite. However, stuff like this is often only be published in the local languages. So you may need to find the right German or French words to plug into Google. I poked at the problem a little, but so far my language skills haven't been up to the task and it is getting late, even for this night owl.

A few random observations, as an American who's spent some time here:

I've seen in the following choices next to each other in a vending machine at a train station: rolling papers, lighter, pack of condoms, "maybe baby" pregnancy test kit. I'm sure the machine makes more money selling drinks, but it is reassuring that you can find reputable products for a wide range of situations any time, day or nite.

I cannot help but find the German word "Antibabypille" terribly amusing.

From what I've seen and heard, anti-sex-education is very much an American absurdity and broadly speaking, the Swiss tend to be very pragmatic about things that Americans find hard to deal with. Prostitution is legal. Needles (and sterile vitamin C powder) are available from vending machines. "Babyfenster" exist.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

On this forum, the SEARCH function is at the top right-hand corner of the screen. There, you can enter any vocabulary you know, about sex education and contraception, and may well find threads in this forum.

For example:
https://www.englishforum.ch/family-m...ive-pills.html
https://www.englishforum.ch/family-m...h-control.html

Once you’re reading such a thread, try scrolling right down to the very bottom of the page, and there you will find suggestions of other, related threads.

If you type the main words that interest you into “google translate”, you will also be able to search in German or French or Italian.

Then use those terms as search-words in Swiss websites such as these following sites (in German):

Here is a sex education site for young people called (translated) “Lust and Frustration”
http://www.lustundfrust.ch/jugendliche/verhuetung

The Swiss “Beobachter” (which means Observer, but is not to be confused with the British newspaper of that name) is respected consumer rights magazine running articles about and a range of social and insurance matters.
https://www.beobachter.ch/suche/pille
https://www.beobachter.ch/suche/sexualkunde

You can copy-paste the titles of their articles into “google translate”, to get the text back in English, and gradually build up your own glossary/dictionary of terms. That will empower you to be able to choose which articles and paragraphs would be worth your while to google translate. The machine version won’t be perfect, but will give you some idea.

Here’s some information which is in English, to start with:
http://www.mycheckpoint.ch/en/zh

And for school projects like yours, google really is your friend.
Try, for example: sex education site:.ch

As for average cost of the pill and IUD, here in Switzerland health insurance is mandatory for everyone so there is "no cost without insurance". Insurance will cover these as a matter of course.

Insurance does NOT pay for IUD, pills, condoms, etc.

Tom

Doesn't it? Not even on a doctor's recommendation?

Only for non-contraceptive reasons.

Search the forum!

Tom

But they will pay for an abortion, which I guess is vaguely relevant to the OP.

Birth control isn't covered by health insurance. Once you know that, your second question (costs with vs without insurance) becomes twice as easy to answer The pill is around 20 francs per month, hormonal IUDs about 500 francs for 5 years and copper IUDs about 200 francs for 5 years. All require a doctor's prescription of course.


There aren't any ongoing campaigns to make it covered by insurance, let alone free of charge to everyone, which answers one of your other questions. The former gets proposed every few years in parliament - the last time I think was in 2010 - but nothing happens. There are places to apply for financial support if the cost is truly a hardship... otherwise it's seen pretty much as a personal hygiene item, like toothpaste.


No substantial categorical opposition to sex ed in schools - but like everywhere else there's a certain amount of tension over the details, voluntary vs mandatory instruction, which topics should be included at which age etc. Switzerland is in the process of implementing a nationwide curriculum called "Lehrplan 21" which will standardize things to some extent... up until now it's varied quite a lot by canton, with some of the more left-leaning/progressive cantons (looking at you, Basel!) periodically generating headlines that shock the conservative Innerschweiz.

(Just as an aside, the biggest single tip I can give you for understanding Swiss politics is to resist the tempting approximation of cantons=states. Swiss cantons have the autonomy of US states - even more, in some ways - but the size and therefore the administrative preoccupations of a US county.)

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And even for that you can have a hard time convincing the pharmacist.

Perhaps I'm naive, but why would you need sterile vitamin C powder?

Yeah, Basel...


Do you have those in the US?

http://www.20min.ch/diashow/87305/87...COPrQ7WGHQ.jpg

http://www.20min.ch/diashow/diashow.tmpl?showid=87305

It's for pupils of class 5-7.

That would be age...12-ish?

Most of the questions you have aren't really that controversial here (or not at all).

Not always.

Tom

Bern, Vaud, Valais and Graubunden are each larger than the State of Rhode Island, and Ticino is almost as large.

In fact, Graubunden is larger than Delaware, and Bern almost as large.

Tom

That's because Rhode Island is pathologically small

If Graubünden (let alone any of these other "big cantons") were a US county, it wouldn't even make the top 100

Related to the needle vending machines, not procreation related. It is used to dissolve heroin prior to injection.

High School or university/school?

What other things are you needing to compare, out of interest? Your questions are pretty much focused on one area. It seems a peculiar essay to be asked to write.

@MathNut, I like your post, but please, (this addressed to MathNut but also to others who may fall into the trap) don't do too much of the girl's homework for her.

Not entirely sure it's homework.