Women will now be able to swim bare-breasted in Berlin’s swimming pools, the German capital’s swimming pool authority announced on Thursday (09.03.2023), citing the fight against discrimination between men and women.
The decision comes in response to a complaint filed by a 33-year-old woman with the Berlin anti-discrimination office. Last December, this swimmer was expelled from the pool after refusing to cover her breasts.
In her complaint, in which she claims to be discriminated against in relation to men, she also pointed out that the house and bathing rules of the Bäder-Betriebe do not specify any gender-specific rules and only speak of the wearing of “usual bathing attire”.
New regulations respecting “gender equality”.
“The Berliner Bäder-Betriebe company will in future implement its internal regulations and its bathing regulations in a way that respects equality of the sexes,” the entity announced in a statement.
“Swimming with a bare torso will in future be possible for female persons or for persons whose breasts are of the female type,” it specified.
Other cities have also pushed for the measure
Berlin’s anti-discrimination mediation service “welcomed” the decision: “It is now a matter of applying the regulation concretely and no longer expelling or banning access” to anyone who wants to swim bare-chested, said its director, Doris Liebscher.
Last year, several German cities had already introduced topless swimming for all sexes in municipal pools: for example, Siegen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, or Göttingen, in Lower Saxony. Hannover, capital of Lower Saxony, also changed its bathing rules by the end of 2022.
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Category: World news