Homosexuality in Switzerland

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Switzerland

This article deals with the current situation of gays and lesbians in Switzerland .

In Switzerland, the rights of the individual traditionally have a high priority. At the same time, privacy is viewed as a valuable asset. In Switzerland's public discourse, a strong contrast between town and country is perceived.

Homosexual acts have been legal in Switzerland since 1942. A higher age of consent (20 years instead of 16 for heterosexual acts) was lifted with the criminal law reform of December 1990. State discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been explicitly prohibited under constitutional law since 2000 . Registration of homosexual partnerships has been possible since 2007 ( Partnership Act ).

In Zurich , Geneva , Basel , Lausanne and Bern there is a wide range of gay and lesbian subcultures. While in Lucerne , St. Gallen , Buchs SG and Chur, the range is sometimes a bit clearer. Outside of these centers, gays and lesbians are barely noticed in public.

history

The history of homosexual emancipation began in Switzerland with Heinrich Hössli , who published a book about love for men in 1836. From the end of the 19th century, the persecution of homosexuals decreased in scope and severity for the first time since the Helvetic . Initially in the twenties of the 20th century, the first homosexual civil rights movement was formed in 1932, initiated by Laura Thoma mainly around the magazine Das Freundsbanner , from which the internationally important magazine Der Kreis emerged . In 1942 homosexual acts were largely decriminalized. This first civil rights movement inspired similar movements in many other European countries after the Second World War.

In the 1970s, a second gay and lesbian civil rights movement was formed, which achieved the almost complete abolition of discrimination against gays and lesbians within 30 years (same age of consent, registered partnership, abolition of different treatment for homosexual and heterosexual members of the army).

politics

Voting behavior of the cantons on the Partnership Act
  • Yes (19 cantons)
  • No (7 cantons)

    • Switzerland is a semi-direct democracy , in contrast to the parliamentary republics and monarchies that are predominant in Europe. All changes in the law can be submitted to a referendum by the Swiss people. In part, this happened in the wake of major legislative changes, so that the rights of gays and lesbians had different weight in the public discourse.

    The decriminalization of male homosexuality brought about the introduction of the Swiss Criminal Code (adopted after a referendum on July 3, 1938 with 53.5 percent). The same age of consent for everyone came with the new sex criminal law, which made rape in marriage a criminal offense.

    Partnership Act

    After a referendum on June 5, 2005, the Partnership Act (PartG) was voted separately and passed with 58 percent. Switzerland is the first country to approve the registration of homosexual couples through a referendum. The bill was rejected in 6 ½ of 23 cantons (or 7 of 26 cantons and half-cantons ). These are the more rural and Catholic cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden , Jura , Schwyz , Ticino , Thurgau , Uri and Wallis . Since the vote was an optional referendum , the professional votes do not play a role in the result.

    The Swiss cantons are required to harmonize their rights with spouses and partners under the PartG. The canton of Geneva has extended the tax exemption for heirs to registered partners. The Swiss People's Party (SVP / UDC) , on the other hand, took the referendum with the argument “tax gifts to infertile and wealthy couples” and failed at the ballot box with 83 percent.

    Federal popular initiative "For marriage and family - against the marriage penalty"

    2012, was popular initiative of the CVP submitted that wanted to commit to constitutional level marriage as "[...] the applied permanently and legally regulated community of men and women." The initiative has been approved by the Federal Council to accept the Parliament recommended, however, recommended a rejection. The popular initiative took place on February 28, 2016. A counter-draft, which wanted to equate marriage to other forms of life in taxes and social security, failed in the Council of States . On February 28, 2016, the popular initiative “For marriage and family - against the marriage penalty” was rejected.

    Parliamentary initiative "Marriage for All"

    On December 5, 2013, the parliamentary initiative “ Marriage for All ” was submitted by the parliamentary group of the Green Liberal Party . The aim of this initiative to amend the Federal Constitution is to open up all legally regulated unions for all couples, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. This is intended to enable homosexual couples to marry civilly, but without an automatic right of adoption for homosexual couples. According to surveys in the population, the submission is eligible for a majority. The initiative was approved by the Legal Commission of the National Council in February 2015, and the corresponding commission of the Council of States followed in September 2015. On August 30, 2019, the Legal Committee of the National Council approved marriage for everyone. On January 29, 2020, the Federal Council approved marriage for same-sex couples.

    Politician

    In Switzerland, politicians and even federal councilors , regardless of their way of life, have repeatedly been committed to legal equality for homosexuals.

    Claude Janiak , Council of States and former President of the National Council, was involved in AIDS work, Network and Pink Cross .

    Youth work Switzerland

    The DOJ - umbrella organization for open child and youth work Switzerland deals with LGBTIQ issues and LGBTIQ politics. Many youth work centers in Switzerland have recognized that they have a responsibility for queer young people. Therefore, the DOJ, together with the OKAJ - Cantonal Umbrella Association of Open, Association and Church Child and Youth Work from the Canton of Zurich, offers the Queer specialist group for those interested in open youth work.

    Law

    Protection against discrimination

    Article 8 of the Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation prohibits discrimination on the basis of lifestyle. However, this relates to the relationship between the state and the citizen, but not to the relationship between citizens or foreign residents of Switzerland. After a referendum on February 9, 2020, in which over 60 percent of citizens voted for legal protection against discrimination for bisexual and homosexual people, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is punishable in Switzerland.

    Cohabitation (cohabiting)

    At the end of August 2008, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that, as with opposite-sex partners, long-term same-sex partners ( cohabiting ) are also entitled to the vested benefits from the pension fund of the deceased. A shared apartment is not necessary.

    Registered partnership

    When the Partnership Act (PartG) came into force on January 1, 2007, gays and lesbians in Switzerland can register their partnerships.

    adoption

    As stated in Art. 28 PartG, in Switzerland it is forbidden or “not allowed” to jointly adopt non-biological children. On March 8, 2016, the Council of States and on May 30, 2016 the National Council approved the adoption of biological children by the partnered part of the couple.

    Surrogacy

    Surrogacy is generally prohibited in Switzerland. A Swiss partnered gay couple who fathered a child through surrogacy in the United States tried to have parenthood recognized in 2014. The administrative court in Sankt Gallen granted this request in the first instance, but this judgment was overturned by the federal court. According to this ruling, only the biological father is recognized as the parent in the case of surrogacy.

    military service

    In the Swiss Armed Forces, sexual orientation per se is no longer an assessment criterion for (un) fitness for service.

    If the member of the army gets credible problems in the service because of his homosexuality, in individual cases, after psychiatric exploration with a corresponding application, he can be declared unfit for service.

    In a referendum on May 17, 1992, the then Art. 127 on unnatural fornication was deleted from the military penal law ("Anyone who commits an indecent act with a person of the same sex will be punished with imprisonment ...").

    StGB Art. 187: Age of consent

    The general age of consent in Switzerland is 16 years. Sexual acts are also not punishable if the age difference between the sexual partners is less than three years.

    StGB Art. 195: Prostitution

    No distinction between male and female prostitution. Prostitution is allowed, pimping is prohibited.

    StGB Art. 197: Pornography

    No distinction between homosexual and heterosexual pornography. Adults are allowed to consume, trade, import and produce pornography. Hard pornography and distribution of pornography on radio or television is prohibited. Hard pornography includes depictions of violence, children or animals in connection with sexuality. The representation of hard S / M , scat , golden shower , pedosexuality and zoophilia are prohibited.

    Lesbian and gay movement

    In some cantons there are homosexual working groups that see themselves as representatives of gays towards the canton, the media and the general public, for example the homosexual working groups Basel (habs), the homosexual working groups Bern (HAB) and the homosexual working groups Zurich (HAZ) . In many cantons there are gay youth groups that hold the National Coming Out Day on October 11th every year . In Zurich and Kreuzlingen there is a club that organizes a CSD .

    There is also a rich club life for homosexuals with different interests. Students find gay and lesbian university groups at the universities, Loge 70 for leather men, the Gaybiker Zurich and the Zurich Leather and Motorcycle Club for motorcyclists, Adamim for pastoral workers, and some cities have specific sports clubs. Professional interest groups are Network for managers and executives , QueerOfficers for officers, PinkCop for police officers, PinkRail for railway employees , and even the operations of the scene are organized in their own association VEGAS .

    All together they are organized under the umbrella of Pink Cross , the national umbrella organization of homosexual men in Switzerland, or in the LOS (Swiss Lesbian Organization) .

    Pink Cross maintains a secretariat in the federal city of Bern and sees itself as a lobby group for homosexuals. This is officially recognized and Pink Cross takes part in the consultation process for Swiss legislation.

    aims

    The civil rights movement has achieved important milestones: decriminalization of homosexuality (1942), abolition of the homosexual register in the police (from 1978), same age of consent for homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual contacts, prohibition of discrimination in the federal constitution, equal treatment of homosexuals, heterosexuals and Bisexuals in the army (all 1990s) and introduction of the Partnership Act (2007). From the left to far into the right-wing conservative camp, the social climate is indifferent to positive.

    The right to adopt children is withheld from homosexuals in Switzerland; the same applies to reproductive medicine procedures. In parliament, however, the easing of the ban on adoption for same-sex couples is being negotiated. However, the right should remain restricted to the child of the respective partner.

    Social situation

    All four cultures in Switzerland are generally considered to be tolerant. However, homosexual life is concentrated in the larger cities of Zurich , Geneva , Basel , Lausanne and Bern , of which Zurich is home to the largest gay community. In these centers, homosexuality is publicly perceived and accepted.

    Christianity

    At the beginning of August 2019, the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich made it possible for same-sex couples to be married in church. On August 29, 2019, the Federation of Swiss Evangelical Churches endorsed the marriage of same-sex couples . In September 2019, the Reformed Church in Aargau endorsed the church wedding of same-sex couples.

    Evangelicals

    There are isolated opposition from evangelical circles that have little social significance. Politically, these groups have tried again and again to prevent equality between gays and lesbians by holding referendums. So far you have always failed because of the Swiss people. The evangelical group is not homogeneous and there are isolated indifferent or positive attitudes towards homosexuality.

    Assaults

    There were isolated reports of attacks against homosexuals in the 1990s. The police make every effort to deal with homosexuals in an understanding manner, especially in the big cities. Homosexuality is addressed in police training.

    police

    In 2007 the police closed the gay club Labyrinth because of drug discovery, which sparked controversy about the motives. The police were accused of being insensitive. However, this was able to prove the drug finds and there were warnings in the run-up to the closure.

    The attitude of the police has improved significantly since the 1970s. A career in the police force is open to gays and lesbians and this opportunity is being seized.

    Scene and culture

    Culture

    There are four film festivals with a gay and lesbian focus: Queersicht in Bern since 1995, Pink Apple Film Festival since 1998 in Frauenfeld and since 2000 in Zurich, Lesbian and gay film festival PinkPanorama in Lucerne since 2002 and Luststreifen in Basel since 2008.

    There are choirs in Bern (Schwubs) and Zurich (Schmaz) . In 1993 Schmaz organized the 7th European Gay and Lesbian Choir Festival in Zurich. At the Swiss Federal Choir Competition in Crans-Montana in 1993 Schmaz achieved third place.

    scene

    There is a rich cultural, commercial and political offer in Zurich and, to a considerable extent, in the western Swiss metropolis of Geneva.

    The gay scene in Zurich has an impact far into southern Germany , Vorarlberg , northern Italy and Alsace .

    There is a wide range of clubs and a limited range of scenes in the cities of Basel, Bern, Lausanne, St. Gallen , Lucerne, Buchs SG and Chur.

    The range of bars, parties, restaurants, saunas and other places to get to know each other is subject to constant changes. Current information is provided by magazines and online portals.

    media

    Scene publications

    This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

    The gay magazine with the highest circulation in Switzerland is called display . After the merger of the two titles Akut Magazin and Kontakt in 2008, this title will be published by Display Media AG. Display is available free of charge by subscription and in newsagents, as well as in selected gay locations and has over 60,000 readers. In addition to the print title, display is also available as an online version.

    The acute magazine sees itself in the tradition of the circle . This view is a bit daring, but at least as a member magazine of the SOH it is the successor to Club 68 . The SOH membership magazine was called Club 68 from 1968 to 1971 , hey from 1972 to 1983 and SOH-Info from 1984 to 1995 .

    Before the last facelift was called acute since 1985 anderschume / Kontiki, later a / K . anderschume was previously the organ of the HA groups. The independent free newspaper Kontiki existed since 1979.

    Akut is the membership magazine for the HA groups. It is also available in newsagents and can be obtained worldwide by subscription. Akut Magazin has a circulation of 4,500 copies and appears every two months.

    Since the beginning of the 1990s, the cruiser has also been available in changing formats with a monthly publication cycle. It is available for free in pubs, but can also be bought in newsagents.

    Individual groups publish member magazines, some of which are more reminiscent of fanzines but are of local importance for group communication. There are also personal ad magazines.

    Gay and lesbian magazines from other European countries are also available.

    Www.lesbian.ch was launched in 1996 as the first Swiss online platform . In 1997 the first worldwide online community for lesbians, www.shoe.org, followed, which originally started as a local mailing list for Zurich. The two portals are operated by the two Swiss women Sunci & Fab Syz, who won the CSD Stonewall Award in 2010 .

    The Dutch online platform PlanetRomeo (formerly known as GayRomeo ) has achieved a certain importance in Switzerland as a meeting place for gay men, as well as the Swiss community www.purplemoon.ch . www.queer.ch and www.gay.ch are internet portals with news and consumer reports.

    A complaint by the Catholic People's Party of the Canton of Thurgau in 1999 that individual newspapers in Eastern Switzerland were insubordinately supporting the “homosexual lobby” was rejected by the Press Council as unfounded.

    Christopher Street Day

    With Christopher Street Day , gays and lesbians in Germany and Switzerland have been commemorating the violent riots by gays after a police raid on July 28, 1969 in the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York since the 1970s . These events and parades (originally: demonstrations) take place worldwide. Although the English name suggests it, the name Gay Pride, or simply Pride , is common in the Anglo-Saxon world . This has been gradually gaining ground in Europe since the late 1990s.

    In 1975 gays marched with a banner at the May 1st rally in Basel and thus approached a wider public to draw attention to their concerns. The first Christopher Street Day followed in 1978 in Zurich . In 1979 the National Gay Demo took place in Bern. Basel (1980), - Gay 80 , the name was based on the garden exhibition Grün 80 , which took place in the same year , Lausanne (1981) and Zurich (1982) followed. Due to the emergence of AIDS and the associated stigmatization of gays, only isolated demonstrations took place, for example in Zurich in 1986 and in Bern in 1987. In 1989, a Christopher Street Day was held in Zurich on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots . CSDs have been held annually in Zurich since the 25th anniversary in 1994.

    In the 1990s, the CSDs were increasingly noticed by a broader public and positively supported by the Swiss media. This positively changed the attitude of the population towards the concerns of gays and lesbians, which ultimately resulted in gradual equality.

    On the occasion of the CSD, the CSD Stonewall Award has been presented since 1997 .

    Due to the growing number of visitors and participants in the CSD in Zurich, it is becoming an increasingly important festival for the city and a major tourist attraction. At the general assembly in autumn 2009, the CSD Zurich association gave itself a new name: Zurich Pride Festival . After the Europride 2009, the CSD was renamed and is a multi-day festival.

    In addition to the CSD in Zurich, there was a Pride in western Switzerland with an annually changing venue. Occasionally, other CSDs took place, such as in Lucerne (German-speaking Swiss venue as a gift from Western Switzerland to vote on the 2005 Partnership Act) and Basel (three-country CSD). Zurich is the only Swiss city with an annual CSD. In Kreuzlingen in Eastern Switzerland there has also been a cross-border CSD that takes place every second year together with the German CSD Konstanz e. V.

    In June 2018, a Pride took place in Italian-speaking Switzerland for the first time.

    Coming out day

    Since the mid-1990s, the Coming Out Day has been taking place every year with various high-profile campaigns aimed primarily at encouraging young gays and lesbians to develop a positive relationship with their identity.

    See also

    Portal: Homo- and bisexuality  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the subject of homo- and bisexuality

    Web links

    Commons : Homosexuality in Switzerland  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

    References and comments

    1. ↑ Switzerland's best LGBT clubs. Retrieved January 13, 2020 .
    2. ↑ Swiss Federal Chancellery: referendum of July 3, 1938
    3. ↑ Swiss Federal Chancellery: referendum of June 5, 2005
    4. ↑ Gruene-bundestag.de: ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Press release No. 478 of the Bundestag faction Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen: After referendum in Switzerland: Union must give up blockade in the Federal Council against equality of civil partnerships in tax law! June 6, 2005.
    5. ↑ Queer: Geneva votes for gay law.
    6. ↑ Swiss Federal Chancellery: Federal popular initiative “For marriage and family - against the marriage penalty”
    7. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger: The CVP in family gossip with gays and lesbians
    8. ↑ Federal administration: Federal Council recommends acceptance of the popular initiative to abolish the "marriage penalty"
    9. ↑ Federal popular initiative “For marriage and family - against the marriage penalty” ( Memento of the original of July 14, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.admin.ch  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.admin.ch
    10. ↑ Finance Minister Maurer: "Another chapter in matters of marriage penalty"
    11. ^ Neue Zürcher Zeitung: On the way to the modern age
    12. ↑ The Federal Assembly: business 13,468 - Parliamentary Initiative "marriage for all" parlament.ch
    13. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger: Marriage for everyone is eligible for a majority from February 22, 2015.
    14. ↑ Gay marriage - Parliamentary commission calls for “marriage for all” NZZ.ch from February 20, 2015.
    15. ^ "Marriage for all" Homosexuals should get married drüfen NZZ.ch from September 1st, 2015.
    16. ↑ Queer.de: Marriage for everyone with restrictions , August 30, 2019
    17. ↑ Daniel Gerny: The Federal Council gives the green light for marriage for everyone: as the federal lawyers defended against twenty years ago. In: NZZ. January 30, 2020, accessed February 2, 2020 .
    18. ^ President of the Aids-Hilfe both Basle 1993–2002
    19. ↑ The Networker: Claude Janiak elected National President .
    20. ↑ FG Queer. Retrieved on July 23, 2020 (German).
    21. ↑ Swiss Confederation: Art. 8 BV , SR 101, status on May 18, 2014, accessed on January 29, 2015
    22. ↑ Stuttgarter Nachrichten: Popular vote, Swiss for the ban on discrimination against lesbians and gays, accessed on February 9, 2020
    23. ↑ Deutschlandfunk.de: Swiss people vote for changes in criminal law, accessed on February 9, 2020
    24. ↑ sda: Even homosexuals can inherit the pension fund, NZZ online, September 4, 2008 (on the judgment 9 C 874/2007 of August 20, 2008; no BGE publication).
    25. ^ Partnership Act (PartG) , Federal Act on Registered Partnerships for Same-Sex Couples ( PartG ), SR 211.231, as of July 1, 2013, accessed on January 29, 2015
    26. ^ Queer.de: Swiss government against adoption rights for gay couples
    27. ↑ Queer.de:Stepchild adoption for same-sex couples, Switzerland wants to liberalize adoption law a bit
    28. ^ Also National Council for Stepchild Adoption. (No longer available online.) In: queer.ch. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016 ; accessed on June 6, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / queer.ch
    29. ↑ Federal Supreme Court on Surrogacy No double paternity
    30. ↑ Fitness for service: Medical questions ( Memento of the original dated December 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on vtg.admin.ch.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vtg.admin.ch
    31. ↑ Swiss Criminal Code. Military Criminal Law (Offenses against Sexual Integrity)
    32. ↑ a b c Swiss Criminal Code: Article 187 ("Sexual acts with children"), Article 195 ("Promotion of prostitution"), Article 197 ("Pornography"), Article 231 ("Spreading human diseases")
    33. ^ Zurich Reformed Church: Zurich Church Council says yes to marriage for all
    34. ↑ Kirchenbund.de: Council of the Federation of Churches advocates opening up marriage to same-sex couples , August 29, 2019
    35. ↑ Aargauer Zeitung.ch: The Reformed Church in Aargau supports marriage for everyone , September 18, 2019
    36. ↑ a b c d Bern: Queersicht , Lucerne: lesbian and gay film festival PinkPanorama Zurich: Pink Apple Basel: Luststreifen
    37. ↑ a b Schwule Berner Singers Schwubs Bern, Schwuler Männerchor Zürich Schmaz Zürich, Fliedertafel ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Basel @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.teleport.ch
    38. ↑ a b Online edition of the Akut-Magazin ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.akutmagazin.ch
    39. ↑ a b Online edition of the Cruiser ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cruiser.ch
    40. ↑ Online edition of the display magazine
    41. ↑ Overview page of the successor to the magazine “Der Kreis” , Der Kreis , accessed on January 28, 2015
    42. ↑ No. 18/99: Reporting on political minorities (Brühwiler / KVP des Canton Thurgau c. "St. Galler Tagblatt" / "Bodensee Tagblatt") ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Opinion of October 1, 1999.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.presserat.ch
    43. ↑ The long way to tolerance (PDF), in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 26, 1978 - Article on the 1978 National Gay Demo in Zurich
    44. ↑ Lugano is experiencing its first Gay Pride | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . June 3, 2018, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed June 10, 2018]).