Berlin, the capital of Germany, has new regulations permitting women to use public swimming pools and bathing facilities topless. A local anti-discrimination representative lauded the introduction of the policy as a step towards establishing “equal rights” for all of the city’s citizens after a successful anti-discrimination complaint.
Berlin’s government said in a statement on Thursday that “Berlin bathing establishments will apply their bathing regulations in a gender-neutral manner,” adding that “topless swimming” should now be permitted in the city’s public indoor and outdoor swimming pools for “all females or people with breasts perceived as feminine.”
According to a spokesman for the city’s bathing organization, “topless swimming is equally allowed to everyone,” which was a confirmation that the rules had been modified. The new regulations do not, however, compel women in Berlin to swim topless because they can still choose to cover their breasts.
A 33-year-old female pool-successful goer’s anti-discrimination complaint resulted to the change in policy. On a visit to the facility in December 2022, the woman was instructed by the supervisory staff at one of the Berlin pools to cover her breasts. The attendants forced her out of the pool after she resisted.
The lady then said that the facility’s guidelines just required the patrons to wear “common swimming suits” and did not impose any gender-specific restrictions. Once Doris Liebscher, the city’s anti-discrimination female represenative, intervened, the regulations were subsequently amended.
On Thursday, Liebscher herself praised the modifications, adding that they “provide legal certainty” for pool staff workers and guarantee equal rights for “male, female, or non-binary” Berlin inhabitants. There should be no more evictions or [pool] bans, she said, and the rule must now be administered uniformly.
Berlin is not the first city in Germany to enact these laws. In 2022, Goettingen, in the nearby Lower Saxony area, and Siegen, in the northwestern state of North-Rhine Westphalia, followed suit. At the end of the previous year, Hannover, the county seat of Lower Saxony, did likewise.
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