Switzerland gay rights

Same-sex sexual acts between adults have been legal in Switzerland since The age of consent has been the same (at 16) for homosexual and heterosexual sex since a referendum in May There has been legal recognition for same-sex relationships since , following a referendum in June Switzerland has made significant progress in recent years regarding LGBT rights.

Same-sex marriage was legalized in a referendum on 26 September , with % of voters supporting the amendment to the civil code. LGBT Rights in Switzerland: homosexuality, gay marriage, gay adoption, serving in the military, sexual orientation discrimination protection, changing legal gender, donating blood, age of consent, and more. In the past decade, there have been marked changes in the civil rights afforded to lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and intersex people.

In , the Swiss Parliament overwhelmingly passed legislation on gay marriage and adoption rights. While Switzerland has a reputation for safety and tolerance, the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Helpline reported a concerning increase in verbal abuse and physical attacks against LGBTQ+ individuals in In the past decade, there have been marked changes in the civil rights afforded to lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and intersex people.

In , the Swiss Parliament overwhelmingly passed legislation on gay marriage and adoption rights. Get every side of the story with Ground News, the biggest source for breaking news around the world. This news aggregator lets you compare reporting on the same stories. Use data-driven media bias ratings to uncover political leanings and get the full picture.

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Stay informed on stories that matter with Ground News. Despite its near central position in the rankings, Switzerland has improved since the previous year, when it ranked 27th out of 49 countries. In summary, same-sex acts became legal in Switzerland in , and the age of consent currently 16 years old has been the same for both homosexual and heterosexual people since Switzerland also recognized same-sex unions in and legalized same-sex marriage in That law was challenged and survived a referendum in Since , transgender people have been able to change the status of their gender without the previous requirement of sex-affirming surgery.

Furthermore, homophobic discrimination has been a criminal offense since Switzerland recognized civil unions in This amendment made gay marriage equal to heterosexual marriages under the law. The amendment also allowed sperm donation from sperm banks to lesbian couples and recognized both women as equal parents under the law. However, the law was challenged by conservative political parties. They collected enough signatures to force a referendum on the matter.

A gay couple could not jointly adopt. Nor could they adopt a child that was not biologically related to one of them. The amended law gives same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in this regard. In other words, a gay couple can adopt children unrelated to either of them. In December , the amendment to the Swiss Civil Code allowed married lesbian couples access to domestic sperm banks and for both women to be recognized as full parents.

This was reinforced by the referendum. However, commercial surrogacy for gay married men is currently not permitted by the law. The referendum built on the progress that was made the year before. In February , This was a much higher percentage than officials were expecting. It also shows that most people favor these rights throughout the country.

Generally, the groups that voted no did so on the basis of religious rights and free speech. Essentially, the new law prohibits discrimination and hate speech based on sexual orientation in public.

Although the General Equality Act does not explicitly mention gender identity, it does afford protection to everyone regardless of gender identity. Furthermore, any case brought up by a trans-identified person has never been denied.