City ID Cards and their Potential for Irregular Migrants Affected by Domestic Violence

Abstract

Although migrants without regular status are entitled to numerous rights, they are rarely able to assert them in practice. This paper analyzes the challenges that irregular migrants face when enforcing their rights in Switzerland, while focusing on situations of domestic violence and the right to victim support. Furthermore, the paper discusses a potential remedy to the limited access to the respective support services: the introduction of a city ID card. The paper focuses on the city of Bern and follows a multidisciplinary approach, combining the disciplines of law and sociology. The analysis draws on a literature review and five semi-structured expert interviews. The results show that many irregular migrants refrain from claiming the protections they are legally entitled to, and while the interviewees consider a city ID card as a valuable remedy, much of its potential seems to depend on whether third parties would officially recognize the card.