Swiss government opens door to national ban on conversion practices

Conversion practices remain active in Switzerland, and a new report has placed Geneva and Vaud at the centre of the debate. Published on September 9, 2026, by the Intercantonal Centre for Information on Beliefs, the study documents attempts to change or suppress sexual orientation and gender identity in religious and spiritual settings.

The investigation draws on 41 interviews, observations and document reviews conducted between 2023 and 2026. Eighteen people described their experiences directly to researchers. Their accounts include lasting psychological harm, with the report noting that some victims were driven towards suicidal thoughts or suicide.

The findings arrive as the Federal Council signals that Switzerland may need a national response. The government has said it firmly rejects conversion practices and would consider nationwide legislation, while acknowledging that the extent of the problem cannot yet be measured precisely.

The report gives a concrete basis to a debate that has often been framed around isolated cases. It describes practices that can operate within communities, families and informal spiritual networks, often without the label “conversion therapy”. Prayer sessions, exorcism rituals, guided readings and energy healing can all form part of a broader effort to impose heterosexuality or a fixed gender binary as the only acceptable outcome.

The CIC recorded 18 personal testimonies of pressure, manipulation and attempts to erase identity. Researchers describe a psychological cycle that can deepen shame rather than resolve distress. Victims may begin with a sense of guilt about their orientation or gender identity. When the promised change does not occur, religious or spiritual leaders can present that failure as weak faith, moral failure or a lack of personal effort.

The report says this mechanism can produce profound and lasting damage. It links conversion practices to anxiety, depression, diminished self-esteem and damaged relationships. In the most serious cases, the consequences can include suicide.

Manéli Farahmand, the CIC’s research director, said the study “clearly shows” that practices intended to change or suppress sexual orientation or gender identity exist in both Vaud and Geneva. The report does not treat all religious support or pastoral counselling as conversion practice. It focuses on efforts that define sexual or gender diversity as a disorder, wound or deviation that must be corrected.

That distinction matters in Switzerland, where many interventions take place outside formal medical structures. Informal settings can leave victims uncertain about where to report abuse and can make evidence difficult to gather.

Survey figures show that pressure to change identity reaches both transgender people and lesbian, gay and bisexual people. According to the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, 15.5% of transgender respondents said they had experienced pressure to change or suppress their gender identity. The figure was 9.5% among lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents reporting pressure linked to sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Federal Council report says these experiences were particularly common during childhood and adolescence. Religious settings appeared frequently in the accounts, although respondents also identified families, schools and health-care institutions as places where pressure occurred.

The available figures do not provide a complete national count. The Federal Council says the data remain too limited to determine how widespread conversion practices are across Switzerland. That gap has political consequences. Without reliable prevalence data, enforcement agencies and support services may struggle to plan resources, while victims may continue to see their experiences as isolated incidents.

The CIC found the practices most often in certain Evangelical, traditionalist Catholic and Charismatic Christian contexts, reflecting parts of Switzerland’s religious landscape. It also identified similar approaches in New Age and holistic spiritual settings. The methods differ, but the underlying premise is consistent: sexual and gender diversity is treated as something that can or should be removed.

Switzerland’s legal framework remains uneven, with three cantons already imposing bans and no federal law yet in force. Neuchâtel, Valais and Vaud have adopted restrictions on conversion practices. Geneva is considering a draft bill after the CIC documented activity in the canton’s religious and spiritual communities.

The Federal Council considers existing legal protections broadly adequate in principle. Professional rules already bind psychiatrists, psychologists and other health-care workers to legal and ethical standards. Purported treatments designed to “cure” homosexuality may breach professional duties, whether directed at adults or minors. Professional psychology and psychotherapy bodies also prohibit discrimination and the improper use of religious influence in treatment.

Those safeguards have limits. Many reported practices occur outside regulated care, in prayer groups, families, schools or informal spiritual settings. Victims may also face practical barriers when they try to prove coercion or establish who was responsible.

A federal ban could create a uniform definition and clarify enforcement across the country. The government has also said legislation would send a clear public signal. Parliament must first give it a mandate. Andrea Caroni, president of the Council of States’ Legal Affairs Committee, could bring a previously suspended motion forward in the fourth quarter of 2026 at the earliest.

The next decision rests with Parliament, while support organisations face the immediate task of helping people who have already been harmed. The CIC is developing awareness resources in response to its findings. Its researchers say that recognising the existence of conversion practices must be followed by better support for victims, clearer information and accessible routes to assistance.

A national law would not resolve every problem. It would need to cover conduct in religious communities, families, schools, medical environments and psychotherapy without criminalising ordinary religious belief or consensual support. It would also need to address practices directed at minors, who may have little power to refuse pressure from parents or community leaders.

The Federal Council’s position creates a possible path towards consistent rules, but the timetable remains uncertain. The Senate may revisit the suspended motion, with a parliamentary move possible late in 2026. Until then, protections will continue to differ by canton, and enforcement will depend heavily on existing criminal, civil and professional law.

For Geneva and Vaud, the CIC report has made the issue tangible through documented practices and survivor testimony. For Switzerland, it has supplied evidence for a national discussion about where religious influence ends, how consent is assessed and whether current protections are sufficient.