90 people in January their gender entry
Canton Zurich
Almost 90 people had their gender entry changed in January – the youngest was 12, the oldest 75 years old
Since the beginning of the year, trans people and intersex people have been able to have their gender designation officially rewritten more easily. In the city of Zurich there was interest, especially in the first few weeks.
From man to woman or vice versa in 15 minutes: At the beginning of the year it became easier for trans people and intersex people in Switzerland to have their gender and name changed in the civil status register. It is now sufficient to sign a declaration with the desired gender and name at the civil registry office for CHF 75. As current figures show, which the “Limmattaler Zeitung” received from the cantonal municipal office on request, a total of 87 people in the canton of Zurich made use of this option in January.
The largest part of this is accounted for by the civil registry office of the city of Zurich – 36 people have made a gender declaration in the city hall over the past month. This is followed by the civil registry offices in Winterthur with eight people, and in Dübendorf and Kloten with six people each. The other 20 civil registry offices in the canton received only a few or no declarations at all. The Dietikon registry office, for example, only recorded one.
The big rush is over
With 36 gender declarations, the civil registry office of the city of Zurich processed a little more cases than expected, but this was not a major additional effort, says team leader Roland Peterhans. Interest was greatest in the first two weeks. A total of 25 people came by during this time, some from outside the city of Zurich. In the following two weeks it was ten more.
Since then, demand has continued to decline. “The people who came immediately were sure, who had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” explains Peterhans, who had worked on around 20 of the 36 cases himself. He therefore no longer expects a larger rush in the future.
So far, he has been able to rule out abuse
According to Peterhans, the gender ratio in the 36 cases in the city of Zurich was fairly balanced. The range of ages was wide: the youngest person was twelve, the oldest 75 years old. A total of five people were minors, two of them under 16. The latter can only have their gender entry changed with the consent of their legal representative. In the two cases mentioned, the parents could be very supportive, says Peterhans.
The team leader does not share concerns that the simplified procedure encourages abuse – for example by men who want to avoid compulsory military service. He had never had a funny feeling in any of the cases he worked on. “None of these cases were spontaneous decisions. The individuals had previously grappled with their gender identity for many years.”
Until recently, the rule was: first the surgery, then the new entry
Team leader Peterhans Exactly the new work with the gender declarations as very satisfying. “I noticed a great joy and great gratitude from all those affected.” It is extremely important for these people to be able to change their gender entry without much ado and without having to explain themselves. For a long time, that was anything but a matter of course in Switzerland.
Until a few years ago, a change in the gender entry was only possible after a functional adjustment of the genitals. If you were married, you had to get a divorce first. Recently, the requirements have dropped somewhat. But until the beginning of this year, a court had to certify the change of gender entry. This presented an additional hurdle for those affected.
According to estimates, between 40,000 and 260,000 trans people live in Switzerland
Now the procedure has been simplified fundamentally. This is made possible by an amendment to the Civil Code, which Parliament passed at the end of 2020 and the Federal Council put into effect at the beginning of 2022. If you want to change your gender entry, you have to make an appointment at the registry office. There, the person only has to sign a form confirming the desired gender change. The procedure takes about 15 minutes. The civil registry office then reports the change in resident registration. The notification to the bank, insurance company or employer must be made by the person himself.
Changing the gender entry has no effect on existing family law relationships. That means: A mother remains the mother, even if she now has the male gender in her identity card. The same applies to the terms wife and husband. It should also be noted that only the gender categories “male” and “female” can be selected. A third gender, such as that used in Germany with the designation “diverse”, cannot be entered in the civil status register in Switzerland.
Specifically, people whose gender identity differs from the gender determined at birth (transidentity) and people whose gender could not be clearly determined at birth (intersexuals) will benefit from the change in the law. It is not known exactly how many there are in Switzerland. According to estimates by the organization Transgender Network Switzerland, trans people make up between 0.5 and 3 percent of the population. In numbers, that would be between 40,000 and 260,000 people. And the Federal Office of Public Health puts the number of people born intersex at around 40 per year.
Should the gender entry be completely eliminated?
The simplified procedure is “in principle clearly to be welcomed,” says Alecs Recher, founder of the Transgender Network Switzerland. As head of his legal advice, he knows the challenges that trans people are confronted with every day. “When trans people are outed, for example through the old name and gender entry on documents, this is automatically a source of discrimination and hostility.” For this reason, it is important that each person can easily adapt their gender entry to their gender identity. “Of course not all discrimination goes away with a new entry, but it is certainly a supporting and protective factor.”
Overall, he thinks it’s good that movement has come into the subject, says Recher. Nevertheless, some hurdles remained. He mentions, for example, the consent requirement for persons under the age of 16 who are capable of judgment and persons who are comprehensively assisted, as well as the difficult access for refugees in practice. In addition, there is a lack of recognition of non-binary identities – i.e. people who feel that they belong to neither the female nor the male gender. However, Recher also welcomes the discussion about removing gender altogether from the civil status register. “The state has to keep thinking about what data it really needs and whether it’s justified to print it on documents.”
With his excited Recher in Bern open doors: The Federal Council is currently preparing a report on the introduction of a third gender category or the complete waiver of a gender entry. In a statement from the end of 2020, the National Ethics Committee in the field of human medicine (NEK) also commented on this. She came to the conclusion that both leaving the gender entry open and creating an entry option or the third waiver of an entry are preferable to the current regulation.