Switzerland has lagged behind other Western European countries on LGBT+ rights. A progressive rights bill may still have to face a public vote before becoming law.
Swiss lawmakers voted in favor of extending legal marriage rights to same-sex couplesImage: Imago-Images/Panthermedia
The gay marriage law is likely to be put to a nationwide referendum next year before taking effect, at the request of the Christian, ultra-conservative Federal Democratic Union party.
What did lawmakers vote for?
The marriage bill has seen multiple rounds of debate since 2013. The approved wording of the bill allows gays and lesbians to marry. It will also allow lesbians to access sperm donations.
Lawmakers also voted to simplify legal name and gender marker changes on identity documents. Trans and intersex people will now be able to do this by making a declaration at civil registry offices without the need for a court or a doctor. This is known as "self-ID," according to the advocacy group Transgender Europe.
Currently, both children and adults have to apply to a court to change their gender that can cost up to CHF1,000 (€924, $1,130).
The minimum age for legal changes to gender without parental consent was set at 16.
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LGBT+ bill 'a milestone'
"This is not only a milestone in the fight for the rights of the Swiss LGBT population but also an important victory for their dignity, their acceptance and their inclusion in society," Marriage For All, a campaign group, said on its website.
"On the one hand, we're super happy there will be this legal gender recognition based on self-determination, in a very quick and simple procedure," said Alecs Recher, the head of legal services at Transgender Network Switzerland, an advocacy group.
However, Recher told Reuters news agency that the age limit was "a step back for those under 16."
Will there be a referendum?
Opponents now have 100 days to collect the 50,000 signatures needed to trigger a referendum on the same-sex marriage bill.
A survey commissioned by a gay advocacy group Pink Cross in February showed more than 80% of Swiss support same-sex marriage, suggesting the law would likely take effect.
Naples: LGBT+ activism beyond the pride parade
Naples is home to one of the world's biggest transgender communities, activists say. A grassroots movement here is fighting gender discrimination as it builds an alliance against stereotypes.
Image: DW/V. Muscella
Dedicated to the cause
Daniela Lourdes Falanga, 42, is the first transgender woman to chair the Naples branch of Arcigay, the leading Italian organization for the protection of LGBT+ people and the fight against gender discrimination. She was the first son of a local mafia boss.
Image: DW/V. Muscella
Culture of tolerance
Naples is considered a welcoming and tolerant city. Activists claim it has the world's second-largest transgender community.
Image: DW/V. Muscella
Building a movement
Arcigay has been fighting for equal rights, self-determination and smashing stereotypes and prejudices against LGBT+ people since 1985. There were 41 Pride parades in Italy in 2018. Five years earlier there were only five.
Image: DW/V. Muscella
First gay pride event
A mural depicts the legs of drag queen Sylvia Rivera. She may or may not have been at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in June 1969, when drag queens and other patrons fought back against police harassment. The Stonewall riots, a series of clashes that marked the beginning of the LGBT+ rights movement. It's unclear who threw the first brick — or high heel; it doesn't appear to have been Rivera.
Image: DW/V. Muscella
Father of the 'Pride Wave'
Antonello Sonnino, 42, is Arcigay Italy's sports spokesperson. He began his career as an activist after the 2010 death of Marcella Di Folco, a leader in Italy's LGBT+ rights movement who also starred in movies directed by Fellini and Rossellini. Sonnino presided over Arcigay Naples for six years and came up with the idea for the "Pride Wave," a joint political platform for all LGBT+ marches.
Image: DW/V. Muscella
Student support
The University of Naples Federico II set up a help desk, the Synapse Center, where Daniela Lourdes Falanga also works, to support and promote the active and full participation of LGBT+ students. The university was the first in Italy to grant students an "alias career," which allows them to decide how they want their gender to be defined and to use the name they prefer.
Image: DW/V. Muscella
Femminielli resistance
"Femminielli" here, in the San Giovanniello neighborhood, took part in the September 1943 popular uprising against the Nazis, remembered as the "Four Days of Naples." "Femminiello" is a term used to refer to males with markedly feminine gender expression in traditional Neapolitan culture. They were first mentioned in literature in the 16th century
Image: DW/V. Muscella
'Love and nothing else'
"This illiterate heart you brought to school, and learned to write and learned to read one word: 'Love' and nothing else.'' The verses of a poem by Neapolitan actor Antonio De Curtis, best known by his stage name Toto, illuminate a street in Rione Sanita, one of the neighborhoods with the highest number of transgender people of Naples.
