We look longingly across to our German neighbours who have long been
able to enjoy naturism in city parks without a resulting collapse of
society and general morality. This is not a cue for you to hit me with
some German history. You know what I'm getting at.
It's
not just Germany either, there are many places around Europe, and
indeed within the UK, where outdoor naturism is sanctioned. Sadly, none
of those places can be reached with an Oyster card.
We
have posted the BN survey which suggests there are around 500,000
naturists living in London. So where do we go when the sun comes out?
The only officially recognised naturist sunbathing spot in the whole of
Greater London is the tiny, concrete floored, cattle-pen at the men's
pond in Hampstead. If you prefer to lay your towel on grass, or if you
belong to the other half of the human race, this is not even an
option.
We like to think of London as a beacon of
diversity and tolerance, so why is the capital so singularly lacking in
facilities for naturism? We would like to have a dedicated sunbathing
area, somewhere central, like Hyde Park, which would be open to
everyone.
Who would pay for the tall screening fences, I
hear you ask? The German's don't need fences, so why would we? Are we
so different to our continental neighbours? The beauty of the park proposal is that it would cost nothing to build. Absolutely nothing. It just requires a bit of tolerance.
Naturist thoughts and occasional reviews on social nudity in the capital.
Monday 4 August 2014
Naked Sunbathing and The Law
Sunbathing naked in a public place (that includes your own garden) can be done, but if you want to get away with it you might have to brush up on the law.
The British Naturism handy guide to Public Place Naturism has the following to say:
There is no general prohibition of nudity and Naturism is not a criminal
offence, per se. Nudity is legal in a much wider set of circumstances than is
sometimes assumed and “a balance needs to be struck between the
Naturist's right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be
protected from harassment, alarm and distress” (Crown Prosecution Service
(‘CPS’) Guidance on nudity in public).
Every case of nudity is considered on its facts. According to CPS Guidance,
unless there is a sexual context or intent to cause alarm or distress then “it will
normally be appropriate to take no action unless members of the public were
actually caused harassment, alarm or distress”. Even in these circumstances
“regard still needs to be had to the question of whether prosecution is in the
public interest”.
See the full text at:
http://www.bn.org.uk/community/files/download/669-public-place-naturism-portable-legal-guidance/
The British Naturism handy guide to Public Place Naturism has the following to say:
There is no general prohibition of nudity and Naturism is not a criminal
offence, per se. Nudity is legal in a much wider set of circumstances than is
sometimes assumed and “a balance needs to be struck between the
Naturist's right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be
protected from harassment, alarm and distress” (Crown Prosecution Service
(‘CPS’) Guidance on nudity in public).
Every case of nudity is considered on its facts. According to CPS Guidance,
unless there is a sexual context or intent to cause alarm or distress then “it will
normally be appropriate to take no action unless members of the public were
actually caused harassment, alarm or distress”. Even in these circumstances
“regard still needs to be had to the question of whether prosecution is in the
public interest”.
See the full text at:
http://www.bn.org.uk/community/files/download/669-public-place-naturism-portable-legal-guidance/
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