Vicarious violence refers to a form of violence in which harm inflicted on one person, most often a child, becomes a means of harming another person to whom they are closely connected. Particularly observed in contexts of separation and gender-based violence, it reveals a complex dynamic in which the child is both a direct victim and the vehicle through which violence is directed against another person.
This configuration places vicarious violence at the intersection of several fields: children’s rights, intrafamilial and gender-based violence, and criminal law. Understanding the phenomenon therefore requires intersecting perspectives. Contributions from different disciplines help to capture its relational, psychological and social dimensions, while the law is confronted with questions concerning its recognition and legal qualification, as well as the effective protection of the different victims involved.
In this context, the justice system occupies a particular position. Judicial decisions do not merely constitute a response to acts of violence that have already occurred; they also contribute to shaping how such violence is identified, understood and addressed. An analysis of case law therefore provides a basis for examining the capacity of the justice system to address violence that may develop over time, manifest itself indirectly, and be embedded in complex family relationships and power dynamics.
This doctoral research is situated within this broader perspective, with particular attention to Swiss criminal law. It examines how the criminal justice system responds to vicarious violence and seeks to determine the extent to which existing legal categories allow its specific characteristics to be captured, while ensuring recognition of the rights and protection of the different victims involved. In this respect, the analysis of developments in Spain and Latin America enriches the reflection and helps inform the search for legal responses adapted to the Swiss context.
More broadly, this research invites reflection on the capacity of criminal justice to provide an effective response to complex forms of violence that cannot be fully understood through the analysis of isolated acts alone. It thus examines the role of criminal justice in responding to a social phenomenon whose manifestations are also embedded in power relations and in historical, social and cultural constructions.
María Leticia Mariño von Hildebrand
Doctoral research under the supervision of Prof. Thierry Godel
11:00 - 12:00: Colloquium
12:00 - 12:30: Gong Show
12:30 - 15:00: Lunch & networking
