Public Acceptance of naturism

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:41:53 +0000

Nudity has surprisingly high levels of acceptance in a wide range of circumstances. Some of the public, including a significant number of people in positions of responsibility, assume that it is immoral, illegal and has little support. This leads to discrimination.

As naturists we enjoy a clothes-free lifestyle, knowing that it is liberating, comfortable and healthy. We do not seek to impose our dress preference on others and we do not expect others to impose theirs on us.

Objective

To promote acceptance by the general public of naturism and naturist activity in all suitable places.

To ensure that the millions of naturists in the UK can pursue their lifestyle without encountering prejudice and discrimination.

Means

BN will develop campaigning strategies using education, information, publicity, dialogue, example and other means.

BN will publish and review regularly:

advice for being naked in public
advice for law enforcers and legal professionals
advice for local authorities
advice for others as desirable

BN will also:

Monitor the actions of outside agencies and make representations where appropriate
Combat the automatic assumption that public nudity is always illegal or harmful

Implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the Executive Council. Progress will be reviewed regularly and reported to each AGM. The Executive Council will appoint from their number a person with responsibility for ensuring that BN follows this policy.

Naturist Code

Respect people's space
Do not be an exhibitionist
Avoid confrontation
Always report crime whether as witness or victim.

Police

In England and Wales nudity is not in itself illegal. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the law is less clear and in practice it is more repressive.

If the police or other authorities are involved, discuss the situation with them calmly and factually, noting their identities and the salient points of the conversation. Always remain polite, and if ordered to dress, do so. If you are arrested or warned of possible proceedings, do not accept a caution or fixed penalty without first obtaining good legal advice. Report what happened to BN at the earliest opportunity. If there are witnesses, try to obtain their details and ask if they will support you with a statement.

Problems

Any problems? Please tell us! If we don't know about it then we can't do anything about it. Thank you.

This document is also available as a PDF file . If you want to print this document please use the pdf file and not this web page. Public Acceptance Policy.pdf 88.31K 41 downloads

www.bn.org.uk
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© British Naturism Dec 2007.
Unmodified copies may be made and distributed freely

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable adults

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:36:00 +0000

British Naturism takes the protection, well-being and safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in Naturism very seriously and a copy of our policy is available below.

Our policy is put into practice though a Child Safeguarding committee which works closely with NSPCC and meets regularly that our policy is up to date and being properly implemented. We run workshops and seminars for groups - including some non-naturist groups - around the country and encourage member clubs to appoint their own child safeguarding officers and adopt our child safeguarding policy. Special status is given to clubs that have completed our training course.

Despite possible perceptions, problems in this area within naturism are rare. There is no evidence that naked children are at any greater risk than their clothed counterparts. In fact, children are safer in Naturism as children are never allowed to attend without their parents or guardians and entry procedures, members-only locations and/or dedicated sessions mean that the general public are excluded - unlike so many other places where children gather. The community spirit that pervades at Naturist places means that people keep an eye out for each other; anyone getting into Naturism for the wrong reasons soon would soon discover that they'd made a mistake.

Naturist children are happy, well-adjusted and safe. Children don't care if they are wearing clothes or not - it's adults who make them get dressed. They grow up with a better understanding of what will happen to their bodies and enjoy a relaxed, outdoor life. It's often hard work persuading them to get dressed at the end of a day to go home! Also, Naturism is an activity that all the family can do together - rare in the 21st Century. Hot afternoons will see families, sometimes into 3 generations, at Naturist places, swimming, playing sports, BBQing or picnicking, letting off steam with friends in children's play areas or youth clubhouses, or lazing about enjoying each other's company. Naturist families have more open relationships - it is often reported by children who grew up in Naturism how they felt they could talk to their parents about anything. Many adults who grew up as children in Naturism bring their own children up the same way, remembering what a great time they had.

As young children grow into adulthood, Naturism provides an advantage. Western Europe outperforms the UK, often by a factor of five or more, across a wide range of indicators, including teenage pregnancy and abortion rates. There are many reasons but a major contributor is lack of knowledge compounded by the nudge-nudge, wink-wink attitude of large parts of the media and society.

BN-Child-Protection-Policy.pdf 170.98K 53 downloads

Policies - Articles

Public Acceptance of naturism

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable adults