Stalking: New Criminal Offence in Force Since 1 January 2026

Background

Stalking – in statute referred as Nachstellung – was previously not an autonomous criminal offence in Switzerland. Individual acts could, depending on their nature, be subsumed under offences such as threat, coercion, unlawful entry into premises or other criminal provisions. Typical stalking constellations, however, frequently consist of a multitude of individually low-threshold acts which, when viewed in isolation, were difficult to capture under criminal law. The legislative reform is intended to close this gap and to strengthen the criminal-law protection of affected persons. Article 181b of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC) introduces the new offence of stalking (Nachstellung), which entered into force on January 1, 2026.

Constituent elements of the offence

Article 181b SCC applies to anyone who persistently follows, harasses or threatens an-other person in a manner capable of significantly restricting that person’s freedom to shape his or her life. This includes, for example, repeatedly trailing, lying in wait for or observing the person, the continued imposition through unwanted attempts at contact or unsolicited attentions, as well as intimidating conduct that induces fear and intrudes into the victim’s personal sphere or is directed against his or her property. The punishable conduct is therefore not the single incident as such, but repeated conduct that perceptibly interferes with the victim’s daily life, whether by inducing fear, withdrawal, adaptation of behaviour or the avoidance of certain places. The provision is deliberately formulated in a technology-neutral manner and therefore also covers digital stalking (cyberstalking).

The statute does not specify a minimum number of acts required to cross the threshold of criminal liability. In practice, the term « persistent » will generally presuppose a plurality of acts which, when assessed as a whole, amount to stalking. As regards the mental element, intent is required; contingent intent (dolus eventualis) is sufficient.

Distinction from existing offences

The new provision is closely related to coercion pursuant to Article 181 SCC. The offence of coercion typically requires compulsion by force or threat, or pressure equivalent thereto, aimed at inducing specific conduct (acting, omission or acquiescence). Stalking, by contrast, may also exist in the absence of a direct situation of compulsion and is often characterised precisely by the fact that the individual acts appear, taken alone, comparatively low-level, yet cumulatively cause a substantial impairment of the victim’s ability to conduct his or her life. The purpose of the new provision is to capture such constellations more clearly as an autonomous wrong. Depending on the circumstances of the individual case, concurrence with other offences may still arise, such as threat, unlawful entry into premises, defamation or insult, as well as data-related or communications offences.

Practical implications and open interpretative questions

Stalking is punishable by a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or a monetary penalty and is, as a rule, an offence prosecuted upon complaint (Antragsdelikt). Affected persons must therefore file a criminal complaint in due time; the limitation period for filing the complaint is three months (Article 31 SCC).

Two aspects will be central for practice: first, documentation by means of messages, call logs, screenshots, witnesses and chronological records, as the offence is assessed on the basis of the overall conduct. Second, case law will have to delineate the indeterminate legal terms « persistent » and « significant », in particular in situations involving long-lasting, intermittent behavioural patterns and in mixed constellations combining analogue and digital conduct.