is it really possible to avoid military conscription in Switzerland by changing the gender from male to female at 17 … and then changing it back at 30?

12 comments

1. Man if i would have known that its possible like that i would have done that for shure!

2. You can do the zivildienst / service civil instead.

   They are gonna fix it and I remind you that I’d you don’t do the army a percentage of your salary is taken every year… Its gonna come back bite in the ass I think.

   And frankly the army is not that bad, but I get the moral issues… Thats why there is the zivildienst / service social where you help the society… A nice thing to do

3. Yes but I think you’d still have to pay the tax 11 times as if you got a swiss male citizenship. But you will dodge military training.

4. Good luck if you search a job. Not worth it

5. You can avoid conscription fairly easily without changing gender.

6. There’s definitely easier way not to pay the tax and avoid the military, but you can do it.

   IMO Civil service is a lot simpler than the army to plan as you pick when and where you want to serve (unless you don’t do it then they will step in) and do offer a lot of great opportunities. The only “painful” bit is the 6 months equivalent to the “recruitment” really. And it only a cross in a form and 2 letters to get in (if you haven’t done any service if you have the army really doesn’t want you to go).

   Additionally, I feel like there’s a good chance it will get messy.

7. I mean theres no **military** conscription anyways. There’s conscription sure, but you can choose how you want to serve and the military is only one of several options (actually it’s the least popular option with only about 1/3 of all service men choosing that option).

8. Another reason why this should be obligated for all.

9. Wtf…

10. I think you just found a perfect loophole. And I think you would be fine if you change it back at 30 already. They can’t punish you for living up to 17 misgendered so you won’t get any repercussions for that. The only thing might be once you hit 30 and change back they might question if you were honest in the first place, but so far there isn’t a law or precedent banning multiple changes of gender along a lifetime. Concluding by todays law knowledge you could do it without a problem.

    I saw a few people mentioning having to wait until 37 or 40 but that’s not true. I am assuming you are a Swiss citizen already so for you only the cutoff at 24 years matters. You would only need to wait until you turn 37 to change back if you were to acquire your Swiss citizenship later in life.

11. To change gender to avoid service is the proof you are a real pussy

12. The thing is: abusing the gender reassignment process is illegal.

    This is a ‘loophole’ insofar as that it was judged to be more efficient and more fair to allow easy gender reassignment procedures, to lessen the stress and expectations on trans people. Which is a good thing, I think.

    So abusing this system to get out of the military or retire earlier is, well, an abuse, which is potentially liable to criminal procedures if found out. Will this be found out? Who knows. Although, one would think that it would raise some red flags if someone changes their gender at 17 and 30, or at 63 and then again at 65 or whatever.

    Also, one should think of the social ramifications. Having to explain for 13 or more years that your passport says W but you’re living as man isn’t fun for trans people, and one cannot imagine it would be fun for cis people abusing the easy gender reassignment. Imagine that every employer you have wonders about the gender on your AHV card or on your diploma. Probably worse, everytime you travel outside of Europe, the border officers will raise an eyebrow if not a red flag; heck I don’t imagine the more strict border controls like the US would let this slide.

    Finally, while I am aware this article and many users are using this story as a tool to highlight perceived negative treatment of men in the law (i.e. military duty and retirement age), one should not forget that these kinds of off-hand jokes and all that come at the expense of trans people, for whom this law change is intended, and whose lives this makes a lot easier. See also https://www.annabelle.ch/leben/meinung-transphobie-verdient-keine-plattform/