Women
Rape and Domestic Violence: Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense, and the government effectively prosecuted individuals accused of such crimes. Penalties for rape and sexual violence vary between one and 15 years’ imprisonment, depending on the degree of violence and humiliation of the victim, and between 10 and 20 years’ imprisonment if the victim is killed.
The law prohibits all forms of domestic violence and provides for restraining orders against violent family members. There were reports of violence against women, including spousal abuse. Police may prohibit an abuser from returning to the site.
Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is illegal and punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine, and the government effectively enforced these prohibitions. Stalking is a criminal offense. The government also considers “mobbing”–pressure, harassment, or blackmail tactics–in the workplace to be a crime. Employers are required to take reasonable measures to prevent sexual harassment, and failure to do so may result in compensation for victims up to 40,000 Swiss francs ($40,000).
Reproductive Rights: Couples and individuals have the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children; manage their reproductive health; and have access to the information and means to do so, free from discrimination, coercion, or violence.
Discrimination: Women enjoy the same legal rights as men. The labor contract law and the equal opportunity law contain provisions to combat gender discrimination in the workplace. The government’s enforcement of the labor contract law and equal opportunity law was not entirely effective. Women experienced discrimination in areas such as employment and pay. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) Information and Contact Center for Women (Infra) cited parliament’s passing of new pension reforms as negatively impacting women’s retirement benefits by disregarding most women’s roles as primary family caregivers and their frequent part-time employment.
Infra considered the government’s engagement on equality issues as insufficient and continued to regard the part-time directorship of the Equal Opportunity Office and the suspension of the Commission on Equality between Women and Men as impeding effective prevention of discrimination. In December a new independent human rights association assumed the responsibilities of the former Commission of Equality between Women and Men as well as several other equal opportunity organizations. The new entity also assumed the independent services of the Office for Equal Opportunity.
Societal discrimination continued to limit opportunities for women in fields traditionally dominated by men. The median income for men during the year remained approximately 16.5 percent higher than for women.
Children
Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived at birth from a child’s parents. A single parent may convey citizenship. A child born to stateless parents in the country may acquire citizenship after five years of residence. Children are registered at birth.
Early and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age of marriage for both girls and boys is 18 years.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibits the prostitution of minors. Penalties for the sexual exploitation of minors range from one to 10 years’ imprisonment. The law sets the minimum age for consensual sex at 14; penalties for statutory rape are between one and 10 years’ imprisonment. Possession or distribution of child pornography is a criminal offense, with penalties including up to three years in prison.
International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at travel.state.gov/content/childabduction/en/legal/compliance.html.
Anti-Semitism
The small Jewish community does not have an organizational structure. Approximately 30 individuals belonged to the Jewish community during the year. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons
The country investigated its first case of human trafficking in 2013. Due to the continuing investigation, authorities were unable to provide further details on the case. As of November 2015, a verdict was still pending at the Princely Court of Liechtenstein.
Persons with Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental disabilities in employment, education, transportation, access to health care, the judicial system, or the provision of other state services or other areas. According to NGOs working with individuals with disabilities, cooperation with the government was good, but there was need for greater awareness of problems related to disabilities as well as support for employees and employers. The government effectively implemented laws and programs to ensure that persons with disabilities readily had access to buildings, information, and communications. The law mandates that public kindergartens and schools as well as public transportation systems must be accessible to persons with disabilities. Children with disabilities were able to attend public schools or a special school established by the country’s remedial center. The country also had several institutions that provided working, living, and school facilities for persons with disabilities.
The government took various measures to eliminate barriers for persons with disabilities. It maintained an online guide, Barrier-free through Liechtenstein, which provided information on accessibility of buildings, schools, and restaurants.
The law requires public buildings constructed before 2002 to be barrier-free by 2019 and public buildings constructed between 2002 and 2007 to be barrier-free by 2027.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
In 2015 authorities recorded four criminal offenses under the penal code’s antiracial discrimination article.
In 2013 the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) expressed concern over the Foreigners Act because of its implications for noncitizens’ access to public services. The report stated that it was particularly difficult for Muslim women who wore headscarves to find employment and housing.
Acts of Violence, Discrimination, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
On April 1, revisions to the penal code made discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation a criminal offense. The penal code and media law prohibit incitement to hate and bias-motivated crimes based on an individual’s gender and sexual orientation.
While the country’s LGBTI community issued no formal complaints of abuse or discrimination, the country’s only LGBTI organization, Flay, criticized regulations that do not allow gay men to donate blood and prohibit LGBTI couples from adopting children. According to Flay, LGBTI individuals were often subjected to bullying, disparaging comments, and general hostility. LGBTI individuals also experienced discrimination in the labor and housing market. Societal stigma or intimidation generally were not considered factors that prevented the reporting of incidents of abuse. Many LGBTI individuals known to Flay, however, were often reluctant to acknowledge publicly their sexual orientation or gender identity due to fear of experiencing social backlash and isolation. In January, Flay criticized Prince Hans Adam II for calling the adoption of boys by gay men “irresponsible.”