Switzerland is on the road to possibly banning conversion therapy nationwide

The Swiss government says it supports a uniform, national ban on so-called conversion therapy, and it’s moving ahead to consider federal legislation to outlaw the discredited practice.

A report from the government published last week details a number of current national regulations addressing the practice, as well as a patchwork of laws or procedures in various cantons (independent member states) across the country, which include their own administrative or criminal measures and corresponding legislative proposals that have been initiated, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation reports.

Zurich is the latest canton to initiate government action banning the practice. Anyone practicing the so-called therapy in that canton would face a fine, according to the government council’s proposal.

The patchwork of Swiss laws makes a national ban on the practice worth considering at the federal level, the government said.

It’s unclear how widespread conversion therapy is in Switzerland, but several individuals offering it have earned the public’s attention over the last several years, including a homeopathic doctor in Geneva and Vaud who, in 2018, offered to “cure homosexuality,” and also a psychiatrist in Schwyz who, in 2020, recommended himself for the reparative “therapies.”

Conversion therapy, which seeks to change the sexual orientation of those subjected to it, is well known to cause psychological distress, anxiety and depression, and impair self-esteem and social relationships.

So far, 22 U.S. states ban the practice outright, but a decision by the US Supreme Court in the case of Chiles v. Salazar earlier this year could help nullify those bans.

Michigan agreed in August to abandon its ban on anti-LGBTQ+ conversion therapy following a federal judge’s decision against it, making it the first state to say it will stop enforcing its ban in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Cantonal parliaments in Switzerland that have already spoken in favor of a ban include Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, Valais, Vaud, and Bern. Others expressing support for a national ban include Aargau, Basel-City, and Lucerne among them.

Switzerland is made up of 26 full and half cantons. Neuchâtel became the first Swiss canton to ban conversion therapy in 2023.

The European Commission recommended earlier this year that all EU countries ban conversion therapy.

While Switzerland is not an EU member, neighboring Germany outlawed conversion therapy for minors and nonconsenting adults in 2020.

Several other EU countries, including Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal and Spain, have banned the practice outright. Greece banned it for minors in 2022.

The latest EU nation to address the practice is the Netherlands, where the Dutch Senate in June approved a bill to ban it, following the parliament’s lower house approving the measure in September 2025.

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Originally published here.