Gay rights in Switzerland
Encyclopedia
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people and thus bias motivated violence or discrimination is all but unheard of. There is a vibrant LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community with a wide range of gay and lesbian subculture in the two main cities of Zürich and Geneva, as well as some on offer in the neighbourhood centres of Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Bern, Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, and St. Gallen
St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. The town mainly relies on the service sector for its economic...
. Outside of these centres, LGBT people are barely noticed/noticeable in public.
Coming Out Day
Since the mid-1990s, an annual Coming Out Day has been held with various publicity events in order to encourage LGBT people to develop a positive relationship with their identity, particularly among young LGBT people.Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1942. The higher age of consent for same-sex sexual activity (20 years instead of 16 for heterosexual sexual activity) was repealed by the criminal law reform of 1992. In a national referendum on 17 May 1992, 73% of the voters accepted the reform of Swiss Federal legislation on sexual offencesSex and the law
In general, laws proscribe acts which are considered either sexual abuse, or behavior that societies consider to be inappropriate and against the social norms. In addition, certain categories of activity may be considered crimes even if freely consented to...
, including the elimination of all discrimination against homosexuality from the Penal Code. Article 187 of the Criminal Code states that the general age of consent for sexual activity in Switzerland is 16 years. If one partner is less than 16 years old but the age difference is less than three years, then an exception can be made.
Protection from discrimination
Since 1999, governmental discrimination based on sexual orientationSexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
has been constitutionally prohibited. Article 8 of the Constitution of the Swiss Confederation prohibits discrimination on the basis of way of life. Homosexuality is no longer mentioned in the Military Criminal Code, so LGBT people are allowed to serve in the army.
In Switzerland, politicians of all levels, up to the Federal Council, commit themselves time and again, regardless of their way of life, to the equal rights of LGBT people.
Claude Janiak
Claude Janiak
Claude Janiak is a Swiss politician of Polish origin, lawyer and President of the Swiss National Council for the 2005/2006 term. Member of the Social Democratic Party , he was elected to the National Council in 1999 in the canton of Basel-Land and reelected in 2003...
, Councillor and former National President, is involved in AIDS work, Network, and the Pink Cross.
Pension benefits
At the end of August 2008, the Federal Court decided that long-term same-sex partners were entitled to the same vested benefits from the pension of the deceased as equivalent opposite sex partners have. A shared apartment is not necessary.Recognition of same-sex relationships
Registered partnershipCivil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
s have been recognized since 1 January 2007, when the Partnership Act came into force. The provision grants same-sex couples most rights as in heterosexual marriages. The Canton of Zürich
Canton of Zürich
The Canton of Zurich has a population of . The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch...
has allowed registered partnerships for some time. In 2007, one in ten of all marriages in the Canton of Zürich were registered partnerships between members of the same sex, and it has registered 702 couples as of 2008.
Adoption
LGBT people may adopt children singly, but there is no legal provision for same-sex couples to adopt children. However, the law may be revised to allow same-sex couples to adopt following a decision by the European Court of JusticeEuropean Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
on a case in France.
Article 27 treats the matter of the partner's child/children. The law states that the partner of the biological/adoptive parent must provide financial support for his/her partner's child and also possesses the full legal authority to represent the child in every matter as being the parent's partner. It also states that in the case of the couple's disband, the ex-partner has the right to keep close ties with their ex-partner's child. This article makes Swiss registered partnerships one of the most liberal partnership giving the couple a real role in being parents.