Switzerland: simplified procedure for changing sex from January 1

Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community take part in Zurich Pride on September 4, 2021. AFP - FABRICE COFFRINI

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A small revolution is brewing in Switzerland.

From January 1, all those who wish will be able to change their sex with a simple declaration.

Switzerland thus joins Belgium, Portugal, Ireland and Norway, among the rare countries to facilitate sex reassignment without going through a medical diagnosis. 

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With our correspondent in Geneva

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A simple declaration to the civil status.

This is all it will take from January 1 to certify his gender change to the Swiss authorities.

No need to go through the hormone therapy box with medical advice.

Nor to start a long legal procedure.

This concerns children who are born with poorly formed genitals and therefore difficult to define as male or female at birth.

They would be around forty each year in Switzerland.

The new law also addresses transgender people.

They are between 100 and 200 to have undergone or consider going through a surgical operation to change sex.

For minors, however, the consent of parents or legal representatives is required.

The change in civil status will not affect marriages or the rules of filiation.

Neither does the law establish a neutral sex.

The text also provides for refusing requests for a change of sex that would be considered abusive by the authorities.  

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