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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

Why does Switzerland use ‘CH’ as a country code?

One of the mysteries about Switzerland is why the country uses CH for postal codes, stamps, car stickers, and internet addresses. Here is the answer.

Why does Switzerland use 'CH' as a country code?
A Swiss bumper sticker. Image: Wikicommons.

If you believe it represents the first two letters of “chocolate” and “cheese”, or the last two letters “watch”, you are wrong.

And if you think this abbreviation is as random as sticking two letters together haphazardly, that is also incorrect: if you have lived in Switzerland for at least five minutes, you should know that the Swiss leave nothing to chance.

In fact, the CH code has its roots in history — long before internet domain names, postal codes, or cars were invented.

What’s in a name?

As far back as 500 BC, Celtic tribes settled in what is now Switzerland. The most important among those tribes — both in numbers and strength — were the Helvetians, who gave this region their Latin name, Confœderatio Helvetica, the Helvetic Confederation.

So the CH code is the abbreviation of the original name.

A Swiss ID card. 

The name “Helvetia” stuck, in various forms, throughout the Roman occupation of the region from the 1st to the 5th century AD.

When the nucleus of present-day Switzerland was formed in 1291, Helvetia became the Swiss Confederacy — Eidgenossenschaft in German, as it was the only dialect spoken at the time (the country had no French or Italian speaking territories until much later).

When other linguistic regions were annexed between the 15th and 18th centuries, terms such as Confédération suisse and Confederazione Svizzera came into existence.

READ MORE: Why Switzerland celebrates its national day on August 1st

Why is CH designation still used to this day?

Other countries have their own, and perhaps more logical, abbreviations — for instance, FR for France, IT for Italy, DE for Germany (Deutschland), and AT for Austria.

Switzerland can’t use “S” or SE” as Sweden got the first dibs.

So CH fits the bill for both historical and practical reasons.

With four official national languages, it is important to have just one code for the entire country rather than a different one for each linguistic region.

CH seems to be a reasonable compromise, especially as it is anchored firmly in Switzerland’s history.

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Why is Switzerland always neutral?

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SEXISM

Switzerland labelled a ‘pimp state’ for its attitude towards prostitution

Switzerland has been blasted as being a "pimp state" for its laws around prostitution, in a special UN report set to be released on Friday.

Switzerland labelled a 'pimp state' for its attitude towards prostitution

Reem Alsalem, the UN’s special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, was set to present her annual report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today.

In it, she is particularly critical of Switzerland’s stance on prostitution, which is not only legal in the country, but also treated like any other service industry.

Alsalem said this approach has led to a “significant increase in foreign women” engaged in prostitution in the country, calling Switzerland a “pimp state” which benefits from taxes levied on sex workers and brothels.

In response, PROCORE, the national network for the rights of sex workers, countered that prostitution, as it is practiced in Switzerland, cannot be equated with violence and coercion.

READ ALSO: Five things that reveal Switzerland’s unique attitude to prostitution

Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, though, like everything else in this country, it is heavily regulated.

However, the rules are intended to protect sex workers and allow them to work freely — that is, to rule out any attempts by third parties at foul play (read more about this below).

Today, there are more than 20,000 prostitutes of all genders registered in Switzerland.

Interestingly, the trend in this ‘profession’ mirrors the one observed in the country’s labour market in general: because of the high earning potential, Switzerland is a mecca for foreign sex workers, mostly from South America, Eastern Europe, and EU nations.

All of them are considered to be self-employed contractors and can choose venues where to ply their trade, such as brothels, clubs, or streets.

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