berlinBerlin’s state government said on Thursday that women in Berlin will soon be allowed to go topless in the city’s public swimming pools like men. New bathing rules allow everyone to swim without covering their torso, following a discrimination complaint by a woman who was not allowed to go topless at a swimming pool in the capital.
The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, turned to the Senate’s ombudsman’s office for equal treatment and demanded that women, like men, be able to swim topless, the Berlin Senate for Justice, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination said in a written statement.
In response to the complaint and the ombudsman’s involvement in the matter, Berliner Baderbetriebe, which runs the city’s public pools, decided to change its clothing rules, the statement said.
“The Office of the Ombudsman very much welcomes the Bederbetriebe’s decision, because it establishes equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary, and because it also creates legal certainty for Bedderbetriebe’s employees, said Doris Liebscher, head of the Office of the Ombudsman.
In the past, women who exposed their breasts in Berlin’s pools were asked to cover themselves or leave the pool, and were sometimes banned from returning.
“It is critical now that the regulation is consistently enforced and no further evictions or house bans are issued,” Liebscher said.
It was not immediately clear when the new bathing rules would go into effect.