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Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swiss-allow-simple-legal-gender-transition-jan-1-2021-12-26/
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/12/switzerland-just-passed-major-law-affirm-trans-peoples-identities-theres-catch/
https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2021-11-18/switzerland-transgender-persons-may-change-gender-marker-and-first-name-starting-january-1-2022/
https://nexuspj.poder-judicial.go.cr/document/sen-1-0007-923007
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/08/netherlands-sees-no-role-gender-marker-id-documents
People aged 16 and above in Switzerland will have easier access to self-determining their gender on identification documents through a visit to the civil registry office, starting January 1st, removing the invasive barriers of providing proof of gender-affirming care.
However, these new rules from Switzerland's civil code now make it tougher for children below the age of 16 to self-determine their gender: they would now need guardian consent – which wasn’t a previous pre-requisite.
“Some cantons - semi-autonomous regions in federal Switzerland - also require a person to undergo hormone treatment or anatomical transition in order to legally change gender, while, for a name change, proof could be required that the new name has already been unofficially in use for several years,” Reuters reports.
Updating one’s name in identification documents could cost up to thousands of Swiss francs. With the new rules, this cost will be reduced to 75 CHF.
Switzerland is considered “traditionally conservative” and was among the last in European countries to support marriage equality and adoption for same-gender couples through legislation passed this year.
It is being seen as at the “forefront” for self-determination with these new rules but still follows the gender binary system. The Swiss Federal Council is working on reports to address parliamentary motions that aim to introduce more gender options, and to remove gender altogether.
“A growing number of countries around the world have removed burdensome requirements to legal gender recognition, including medical or psychological evaluation… Costa Rica and the Netherlands have taken steps toward removing gender markers on identity documents altogether,” Human Rights Watch reports.
Countries that center autonomy by using simple processes to self-determine gender include Norway, Portugal, Malta, Argentina, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg.