LGBTQ rights in Switzerland | |
|---|---|
 Location of Switzerland (greenBeat Flach) | |
| Status | Legal in Geneva, Ticino, Vaud, and Valais since 1798; legal nationwide since 1942 Age of consent equalised in 1992 through referendum |
| Gender identity | Transgender people allowed to change legal gender |
| Military | Gays, lesbians and bisexuals allowed to serve openly |
| Discrimination protections | Sexual orientation protections (see below) |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | Registered partnerships 2007-2022 Same-sex marriage since 2022 |
| Adoption | Full adoption rights since 2022 |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Switzerland are some of the most progressive by world standards.[1][2] Social attitudes and the legal situation have liberalised at an increasing pace since the 1940s, in parallel to the situation in Europe and the Western world more generally. Legislation providing for same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and IVF access was accepted by 64% of voters in a referendum on 26 September 2021, and entered into force on 1 July 2022.
Same-sex sexual acts between adults have been legal in Switzerland since 1942. The age of consent has been the same (at 16) for homosexual and heterosexual sex since a referendum in May 1992. There has been legal recognition for same-sex relationships since 2007, following a referendum in June 2005. A legal procedure for the registration of sex changes following sex reassignment surgery was outlined in 1993, though since 2010, authorities have followed a practice of registration of sex changes without any requirement of surgery. Since January 2022, people can change their legal gender by self-identification.[3] The Swiss Constitution of 1999 (Art. 8) guarantees equal treatment before the law, specifying "way of life" as one of the criteria protected against discrimination.[4] Certain forms of homophobic discrimination have been a criminal offense since a referendum in February 2020.
The largest LGBT rights advocacy groups in Switzerland are Lesbenorganisation Schweiz for lesbian rights (founded in 1989), Pink Cross for LGBT rights (founded in 1993), and Transgender Network Switzerland (founded in 2010). In the 2010s, these groups had increasingly tended to make use of the initialism LGBTI (for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex") as an umbrella term for their respective areas of interest.[5] Intersex organization Zwischengeschlecht campaigns for intersex rights and bodily autonomy.[6]
- ^ "The 203 Worst (& Safest) Countries for LGBTQ+ Travel in 2023". Asher & Lyric. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ Staff (1 January 2023). "LGBT Equality Index: The Most LGBT-Friendly Countries in the World". Equaldex. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ "Switzerland to allow simple gender identity change next year". www.jurist.org.
- ^ "Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation". www.fedlex.admin.ch. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ "Schweizer Dachverband der schwulen und bi Männer*". www.pinkcross.ch.
- ^ Zwischengeschlecht.org (March 2014). "Intersex Genital Mutilations Human Rights Violations of Children With Variations of Sex Anatomy: NGO Report to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Periodic Report of Switzerland on the Convention on the Rights of the Child" (PDF). Zurich.