Switzerland has moved closer to a nationwide ban on so-called conversion therapy after the federal government said it supports national legislation to outlaw the widely discredited practice.

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation said the government officially set out its position in a report published on Wednesday.

Protections have developed unevenly across the country so far. Neuchâtel became the first Swiss canton to ban conversion therapy in 2023, and Valais and Vaud have also prohibited the practice in their cantons. Bern and Geneva are among the other cantons where lawmakers have considered similar prohibitions.

Patchwork canton bans

Neuchâtel’s 2023 law marked the first time a Swiss canton formally outlawed conversion therapy, setting a precedent later followed by Valais and Vaud.

The move towards national legislation would bring Switzerland closer to a single standard, rather than protections depending on where someone lives.

Conversion therapy is widely condemned by major medical and psychological bodies internationally as ineffective and harmful.

European pressure to outlaw conversion therapy

The European Commission said earlier in 2026 that all EU countries should ban conversion therapy.

Switzerland is not an EU member, but Germany passed a 2020 law prohibiting conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the practice.

Several EU countries, including Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal and Spain, have banned conversion therapy outright. 

Greece banned conversion therapy for minors in 2022.

In the Netherlands, the Dutch Senate in June approved a bill that would ban conversion therapy, after the lower house of parliament approved the measure in September 2025.