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humanrights.ch: Marianne Aeberhard

Campaign for the recognition of non-binary people

On March 29, 2021, the Aargau Higher Court made a historic decision: The gender entry of a non-binary person, which has been deleted in Germany, must be recognized in Switzerland and taken over accordingly in the civil status and birth register. However, the Federal Supreme Court can overturn the decision again. That is why the Transgender Network Switzerland started a campaign on November 5, 2021 with the support of the contact point for strategic litigation of humanrights.ch.

After the competent authority in the canton of Aargau had rejected the application for recognition of the gender separation carried out in Germany, the person concerned went to court with the support of the Transgender Network Switzerland TGNS. The subsequent decision of the Aargau Higher Court on March 29, 2021 was historic. The court fully followed the arguments of the complaining party: The recognition of the non-entry of the gender does not fundamentally contradict today's values ​​in Switzerland. Because the federal administration has lodged a complaint, the federal court could now overturn the cantonal decision again.

For the Transgender Network Switzerland, the fight for recognition of non-binary people is entering the next round. A crowd-funding campaign is to raise 45,000 francs to cover the court costs already incurred and to open up the possibility of taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights. The TGNS is supported by our contact point for strategic litigation.

Click here for the crowd funding campaign!

Regardless of how the decision of the Federal Supreme Court turns out, it is necessary to intensify the educational work on the rights of non-binary people in politics and society. The administration's complaint is a last-ditch effort to avoid the argument. After the National Ethics Committee (NEK) came to the conclusion in a report a year ago that solutions must be sought for the recognition of the third gender, the attitude of the administration is hardly comprehensible. According to the NEK, all proposed changes are to be preferred to the current situation. In addition, the Federal Council is currently working on a report on the introduction of the “third gender” and is considering - probably based on the recommendation of the NEK - the possibility of completely dispensing with a gender entry in the future.

As the Aargau Higher Court has already recognized, binary gender identities are already “social reality”. Non-binary people have the right to a gender entry that suits them. Switzerland lags behind other countries when it comes to protecting its human rights.

That finally has to change!