Swiss can now change their gender without medical assistance
Gender neutral toilets. Photo AFP, Michele Spatari
Central Europe
People in Switzerland are able to legally change their gender by a visit to the civil registry office. This is possible since Saturday, making Switzerland one of the countries at the forefront of Europe’s gender self-identification movement.
Anyone who wants to change gender can do this as long as they are firmly convinced that they are of the opposite sex. Medical certificates or medical evidence that you want to physically approach the new gender are not required.
The change is possible several times: If you change your mind over time, you can reverse your decision. This was reported by Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ).
According to the daily, gender change will have no impact on family law relationships. Anyone who is married stays married. The same applies to parenthood: a woman who has given birth to a child and later converts to the male sex remains a mother from a legal perspective.
The request is subject to a fee and costs 75 francs (around 72 euros). The consent of a legal representative is required for applicants under the age of 16. According to the Russian-owned SNA News, the choice for genders only exists between two classic gender options.
With the new law, Switzerland joins Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and Norway as one of the few countries on the continent that allow a person to legally change gender without hormone therapy, medical diagnosis or further evaluation or bureaucratic steps.
