Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer LGBTQ rights in Switzerland are some of the most progressive by world standards. 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 A legal procedure for the registration of sex changes following sex reassignment surgery was outlined in , though since , authorities have followed a practice of registration of sex changes without any requirement of surgery.
Since January , people can change their legal gender by self-identification. In the s, 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. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised nationwide in with the introduction of a national criminal code.
Some cantons had legalized same-sex sexual activity previously. The higher age of consent for same-sex sexual activity 20 years instead of 16 for heterosexual sexual activity was repealed by the criminal law reform of Article of the Criminal Code states that the general age of consent for sexual activity in Switzerland is Registered partnerships have been recognized by law for same-sex couples only since 1 January , when the Registered Partnership Act came into force.
Same-sex marriage was legalized in a referendum on 26 September The amendment came into force on 1 July On 18 December , the Swiss federal legislature adopted corresponding legislation, which also provides for IVF access for lesbian couples. The right-wing EDU party did so, collecting 61, signatures. Single people, regardless of sexual orientation, may adopt children.
A bill permitting stepchild adoption for same-sex couples was approved by Parliament in spring Opponents unsuccessfully tried to force a referendum on the bill. The law came into effect on 1 January About 22 had been filed in the canton of Geneva and 20 in the city of Lausanne.
