Federal Council open to a national ban on conversion therapy

What the report found On 2 September 2026 the Federal Council published a report on so-called conversion practices aimed at changing someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. Citing the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, SRF reported that 15.5% of trans people and 9.5% of lesbian, gay and bisexual people surveyed said they had experienced such practices, most often as children or teenagers, in religious, educational or family settings. The Federal Council firmly rejects these practices and, while it judges current law broadly adequate, it has now signalled openness to a dedicated federal ban — a shift from its earlier position.

What happens next Several cantons are already moving on their own: canton Zürich's government has drafted a bill to ban so-called 'gay cures'. At federal level, the next concrete step depends on parliament: Council of States legal committee president Andrea Caroni can revive a suspended 2022 motion (22.311) on banning conversion therapy nationwide, at the earliest in the last quarter of 2026. Only if parliament instructs it would the Federal Council draft actual legislation, so there's no ban yet — just a government now willing to consider one.