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041 _afre
042 _adc
100 1 0 _aThomas, Matthieu
_eauthor
700 1 0 _aGraf, Anne-Laurence
_eauthor
700 1 0 _aRoca i Escoda, Marta
_eauthor
700 1 0 _aGoastellec, Gaële
_eauthor
700 1 0 _aBoillet, Véronique
_eauthor
245 0 0 _aThe Oblivion of Discrimination: A Socio-Historical Investigation of the Ambivalence of Swiss Anti-Racism Law
260 _c2025.
500 _a57
520 _aThis article traces the construction of Switzerland’s response to racism since 1965. Combining legal and sociological perspectives and drawing on archives, court files, institutional reports and interviews, it shows that public action crystallized almost exclusively in criminal law with the adoption of Article 261bis of the Criminal Code, in 1994, to enable ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Guided by an understanding of racism rooted in the fear of hate speech that could lead to violence, this choice focused protection on public expression and left most discriminatory practices, particularly in employment, housing and health care, beyond legal reach. After mapping the evidentiary dead ends in terms of evidence, the primacy accorded to contractual freedom and the largely symbolic scope of sanctions, the article analyzes the failed reform efforts of the 2000s that aimed to introduce an antidiscrimination regime inspired by European standards. By highlighting the gap between growing social awareness of racism and a legal arsenal that struggles to apprehend its everyday discriminations.
786 0 _nDroit et société | 120 | 2 | 2025-11-21 | p. 343-363 | 0769-3362
856 4 1 _uhttps://droit.cairn.info/journal-droit-et-societe-2025-2-droit-et-societe-2025-2-page-343?lang=en&redirect-ssocas=7080
999 _c1573017
_d1573017