Switzerland rejects proposal for a third gender option for official records ━ The European Conservative
The Swiss government this week rejected two proposals aimed at introducing a third gender or no gender option in official documents, deviating from a growing number of Western countries that have introduced this option.
The Bundesrat, the executive branch of the Swiss government, published its conclusions on Wednesday, December 23, in a report prepared in response to Parliament that “the binary gender model is still firmly anchored in Swiss society” and “the social prerequisites for the introduction of a third gender or for a general exemption from gender registration are currently not given”.
The executive body stressed that the addition of a third gender or no gender option would require “numerous” changes to the Swiss constitution and laws at the national level and in the country’s 26 administrative regions. The report claims that a societal discourse is needed before a new gender model can be established.
The government also referred to the position of the National Ethics Committee, which concluded in a 2020 report that the time was not ripe for a system change.
Persons are currently entered in the Swiss civil status register as male or female. There is no alternative possibility.
Switzerland’s rejection of the proposal comes several years after neighboring countries like Austria and Germany began to recognize some form of the third gender on official documents.