This document has been produced to help anyone writing about or reporting in fair, accurate and informative ways on news stories involving Naturists. In particular it sets out clearly the legal position regarding outdoor nudity in public places. It also explains what Naturism is, and lists some of the many positive reasons why people choose our way of life. There are numerous facts and figures and links to sources for further information.

Index

1. A few facts about Naturism: good for mental and physical health
2. What is Naturism?
3. The legal situation: it’s perfectly lawful to be naked in a public place – but it can be misreported
4. Public opinion: polls demonstrate positive attitudes towards Naturism
5. Complaints about Naturists are few and far between
6. Naturism is good for you: the psychological, emotional and physical health benefits associated with social nudity
7. Safety and safeguarding: there is no evidence that the sight of a naked person is harmful to children or adults
8. There is no sexual element to Naturism
9. Using phrases such as ‘naked ambition’ and ‘bare-faced cheek’ is hackneyed, and can hamper attempts to report fairly and accurately

 
1. A few facts: Naturism…

• is enjoyed by increasing numbers of people in Britain and around the world
• has been practised in Europe and Britain for more than 100 years
• is lawful
• has grown in popularity during the Covid era
• is built on respect for oneself, for others and for the environment
• is good for mental and physical health
• boosts self-confidence
• counters body shame and dysmorphia
• isn’t sexual
• helps to build positive communities and inspire fund-raising activities
• isn’t harmful to children or adults

2. What is Naturism?

Naturists, also known as nudists, are people who enjoy activities — including walking, cycling, sunbathing and swimming — in the nude.

Naturism is not just about nudity. Central to Naturism is respect for oneself, for others and for the environment. Some adherents see nakedness as part of “going back to nature”. And for many it is a serious part of their lifestyle and philosophy.

According to the official definition adopted by the International Naturist Federation, the international organisation representing British Naturism and other Naturist federations worldwide:

"Naturism is a way of life in harmony with nature characterised by the practice of communal nudity with the intention of encouraging self-respect, respect for others and for the environment".

Various other descriptions exist, including one describing Naturism as a “philosophical belief in a natural naked lifestyle”.

3. The legal situation: it’s perfectly lawful to be naked in a public place – but can be misreported

Naturists in Britain have a right to enjoy their chosen lifestyle, and we do so peacefully and within the law. British Naturism is particularly keen to help journalists gain a clear understanding of the legal situation so they can report fairly on the activities of Naturists. We are committed to promoting Naturism and explaining the positive reasons why people take part.

The vast majority of Naturists enjoy their time outdoors without any incident: Naturism is a lawful and peaceful activity. On very rare occasions Naturists might unexpectedly find themselves in the news, for example when a member of the public feels moved to report an encounter to the police. Usually the police will explain to the caller that no offence has been committed, but occasionally the situation will escalate, and will tie up police resources and hence generate media coverage.

With that in mind this media briefing note clarifies the legal position regarding Naturism, offering factual information about the law, links to expert opinion and official guidance about police responses to Naturism.

The legal situation regarding public nudity
Naturism is entirely lawful in public places in Britain. It is not a criminal offence simply to be naked, and the current legal situation in Britain recognises that Naturism is practised in both traditional Naturist places and more widely (see CPS guidance note, below). There are no laws stipulating dress codes in Britain, including laws about public nakedness.
    
Police call handlers have instructions to explain to anyone who calls to report an unexpected encounter with Naturists, such as skinny dippers or ramblers, that no offences are being committed and that no police attendance is necessary. Because of this, encounters with Naturists rambling, cycling, swimming or sunbathing do not usually make the news. The unnecessary fuss that can be generated by reports about Naturism is however worth considering, particularly where an over-reaction has led to valuable police time and resources being wasted. Such over-reaction can also very occasionally escalate into abuse and threats against Naturists, which might also involve police time to investigate.
    
The following section offers a quick and convenient overview of the two main pieces of official guidance, with links to the original sources, to help journalists report accurately and fairly on matters concerning public nudity.

1. College of Policing briefing note: Public nudity advice and decision aid
Original document available from: https://library.college.police.uk/docs/nudity.pdf. This briefing note relates to policing in England and Wales. The situation is similar in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but for more detailed information see: https://www.bn.org.uk/policing/
    
The briefing note was produced to help police officers decide how to respond to reports of public nudity. It lists a number of ‘passive behaviours’ and advises that no police action is necessary in cases of “sunbathing, walking, cycling, swimming, gardening, home maintenance etc”, whether done in public or in private. The note also states that someone “personally finding nudity distasteful or offensive” is not a sufficient threshold for meriting police action. A clear distinction is made between these situations, which British Naturism endorses as genuine expressions of Naturism, and a range of very different situations which do merit a police response. These are classified as disorderly, sexual and disturbed behaviours. These behaviours are nothing to do with Naturism itself, even though nakedness (or partial nakedness) might coincidentally be seen as a common factor. 
    
Some key quotations from the briefing note are as follows:
• “In the lawful situation where there is an absence of any sexual context in relation to nudity and where the person does not intend the behaviour to be, and is not aware that it may be disorderly, it will not be appropriate to take any police action.”
• “Naturists have a right to freedom of expression which only engages criminal law if they commit sexual offences or use disorderly behaviour that they intend to or are aware may be disorderly within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress.”
• [In relation to laws against ‘exposure’ (or ‘flashing’) and outraging public decency]: “A Naturist whose intention is limited to going about their lawful business while naked will not be guilty of either of these sexual offences.”

2. Crown Prosecution Service: Nudity in Public – Guidance on handling cases of Naturism
Original document available from: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/nudity-public-guidance-handling-cases-Naturism

The Crown Prosecution Service has issued guidance to ensure that incidents of public nudity are handled consistently and reasonably. It makes distinctions between simple Naturism and a wider set of behaviours that could fall foul of a range of laws. These laws are mostly contained in the Public Order Act 1986 and the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

The CPS guidance states clearly in connection with both outraging public decency and public nuisance: “Nudity in public alone with no aggravating features is very unlikely to amount to this (or any other) offence.”

Some key quotations from the guidance are as follows: 
• “Naturism is used to describe the activities of persons who espouse nudity as part of their lifestyle. Whilst many Naturists will restrict their activities to specially designated areas and/or places where there is a tradition of naked activity, such as nudist beaches, others may wish to enjoy nudity more widely. In the case of Naturism 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.”
• “In the absence of any sexual context and in relation to nudity where the person has no intention to cause alarm or distress it will normally be appropriate to take no action unless members of the public were actually caused harassment, alarm or distress (as opposed to considering the likelihood of this).”
• [About the offence of ‘exposure’, or ‘flashing’]; “Section 66 Sexual Offences Act 2003 requires a person to intentionally expose their genitals and intend that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress… The need to prove that the person exposed their genitals intending that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress means that a Naturist whose intention is limited to going about his or her lawful business naked will not be guilty of this offence.”

Naturism is lawful
Many Naturists confine their activities to places where there is a tradition of naked use, such as Naturist beaches, clubs and holiday centres. Others may enjoy nudity more widely, as the CPS guidance note (above) acknowledges. That might include skinny-dipping, rambling, cycling, or sunbathing in country areas and national parks, leisure areas and other public spaces – or on their own property such as their gardens. A Naturist whose intention is confined to going about their lawful business while naked will therefore not be guilty of an offence.
    
Offences involving other forms of nakedness and exposure are committed only in situations where there is a sexual element, or where there is an intention to cause harassment, alarm or distress. These types of behaviour are completely unrelated to Naturism, even though they might coincidentally involve an element of nudity. It would therefore be inaccurate and misleading for any journalist to conflate the two by using a vague, blanket phrase such as ‘indecent exposure’. This is not a legal term for any criminal offence.

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 does contain legislation regarding an offence referred to simply as “exposure”, which is more commonly known as “flashing”. This covers situations in which somebody exposes their genitals intending to be seen by somebody else and to cause them alarm or distress. This is covered in Section 66 of the Act, which can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/section/66.

There are aspects to this law which make a clear distinction between Naturism and the offence of flashing, particularly the intention to cause alarm or distress. That is plainly different to somebody sunbathing, skinny-dipping or otherwise innocently enjoying Naturism.

As the College of Policing briefing note (see above) states, the Sexual Offences Act was deliberately worded to avoid any confusion between Naturism and such other, unlawful behaviours: “At the time that the Sexual Offences Act 2003 was debated in Parliament, care was taken to word the legislation in a way specifically intended to avoid it impinging on the rights and activities of Naturists.”
From the perspective of Naturists, therefore, the official guidance from both the CPS and the College of Policing provide an excellent guide to the correct interpretation of the law, and are therefore recommended background information for journalists reporting fairly on Naturism.

Does this mean it’s lawful to go naked in the local high street?
Strictly speaking, provided there is no sexual element or intention to cause harassment, alarm or distress, there’s no law against being naked in a public place.

Indeed, well-established naked bike rides now take place widely in cities across the world – and in the UK they include London, Brighton, Cambridge, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

But that doesn’t mean hordes of naked people will descend on the local shopping street any time soon. It’s not the custom or practice, and it doesn’t feel natural, for the same reasons that people tend not to wear swimming costumes to go shopping. And shops and shopping malls are privately owned and can enforce their own dress codes.

British Naturism has produced a handy summary of the law that it makes freely available on its website, covering the situations in England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland [available here:

4. Public opinion: polls demonstrate positive attitudes towards Naturism
Naturism and attitudes towards nudity more generally have occasionally featured in opinion polls. The findings demonstrate that public attitudes are broadly in keeping with the current legal situation in Britain for Naturists. The figures vary slightly between different polls, but are close enough to give an overall impression that Naturists make up a significant minority of the British public, and are regarded either neutrally or sympathetically by nearly everyone surveyed.

1. Lastminute.com survey on nude holidays 2016
A survey by holiday company Lastminute.com found that more than half of Britons (59%) would consider going on a nudist holiday, including sunbathing naked and visiting a nude beach. And around 8% of us have already done so, adding up to millions of Britons who have already taken part in Naturism.
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3721861/More-HALF-Brits-nude-holiday-according-Lastminute-com-survey.html

2. YouGov 2014 attitudes to nudity
In 2014 YouGov conducted a survey on nudity, which can be found here: http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/v6yn19q9a6/Internal_Results_141029_Nudity_Website.pdf
This poll of 1,972 UK adults found that 65% of the public agreed with the statement "British people are too easily offended by matters relating to sex or nudity" with only 24% disagreeing. More than one-quarter of all Britons (27%) have gone skinny dipping, while 42% said they felt comfortable being naked compared with 50% who said they were not comfortable. When analysed by political allegiance, it is interesting to note that only Conservative voters had a higher percentage who felt comfortable naked compared to those who felt uncomfortable (48% to 45%).

3. Ipsos Mori opinion poll on Naturism 2011
This is the most recent major opinion poll commissioned by British Naturism to look specifically at attitudes towards Naturism among the general public. The survey of 2,033 British adults can be found in summary form here:

5. Complaints about Naturists are few and far between
Naturism is widely practised but complaints are very few and far between. There are high, legally defined thresholds for what constitutes being “shocked, alarmed or distressed” and there is no evidence that simple nudity meets any of those. At the time of writing (January 2022) no Naturist in Britain has been prosecuted for practising their Naturism since 2012.

Almost everyone knows what a naked body looks like. After all, they have one themselves, and will most probably have seen people of the same or the opposite sex naked in family or other situations and in the media. The British Board of Film Classification states that "Nudity with no sexual context is in principle acceptable at all classification levels, but will not generally occur more than occasionally at U." [source:
https://darkroom.bbfc.co.uk/original/a2109fba273d7dffc461f7c5c633ab3d:301f793713865776d4b4150fdc2f2971/bbfc-classification-guidelines.pdf]

Unfortunately, many people’s only exposure to other people’s nudity is the retouched perfection of glamour photography that we see in newspapers and magazines, or, even more unrealistic and unnatural, in pornography. The truth is that very few people have “perfect” bodies – as you would quickly recognise after spending time on a busy nude beach – and that’s nothing to worry about or be ashamed of.

The main emotion exhibited by people who encounter a Naturist rambler, for example, is one of surprise and sometimes amusement – not shock or distress. Opinion polls have shown that the vast majority of people are mostly indifferent about nudity (see the Ipsos-Mori 2011 poll on Naturism quoted above).

Naturists are usually well-behaved, respectful and thoughtful people. Staff at venues that host Naturist events often remark that they prefer us as guests to some of their regular clients – and have even been known to join in.

6. Naturism is good for you: the psychological, emotional and physical health benefits associated with social nudity
Research into the psychological and emotional effects of nudity and Naturism has started to gain greater prominence in the academic community. One academic Dr Keon West, from Goldsmiths University of London, has produced a number of studies in recent years which have shown a measurable and lasting uplift to people’s body image, self esteem and life satisfaction after they have participated in social nudity.

One recent study by Dr West published in 2020 looked at the effects of social nudity on 15 participants, measuring these three factors: body image, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. The study concluded that “Participants reported substantial improvements in all three outcomes that remained one month after the interventions completion. Results suggest that nudity-based interventions can meaningfully and enduringly improve body image and related outcomes, even among non-nudists.” The study can be seen here: https://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=111202. A good summary with links to more of Dr West’s research can be found here: https://www.psypost.org/2020/10/getting-naked-around-strangers-improves-your-body-image-study-finds-58209

British Naturism has also gathered together some of the latest research into the effects of nudity on children, published in 2016 as Children Deserve Better. The document can be downloaded here:

 

Studies on the effect of exposure to parental nudity among children have demonstrated that it is not associated with any harmful effects on later adult life, and indeed has a number of indications that it might be beneficial. These indications include less use of recreational drugs and higher measurements of self-acceptance. One major study found no evidence of any negative consequences of exposure to nudity, leading the authors to conclude that any fears over the harmfulness of nudity on children were exaggerated: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13604229_Early_Childhood_Exposure_to_Parental_Nudity_and_Scenes_of_Parental_Sexuality_Primal_Scenes_An_18-Year_Longitudinal_Study_of_Outcome.

A summary of this and other research can be found in Dr Keon West’s paper Naked and Unashamed, which is available without a paywall here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10902-017-9846-1

It is unarguable that everybody has a body, and nudity is a universal human experience. Unfortunately, society has hang-ups about bodies, and body shame and body shaming are increasing problems in this country, especially among young people. Nudity is a perfectly natural state and being ashamed of our bodies is unhealthy.

Naturists are motivated by the feelings of comfort, relaxation, acceptance and well-being that come from being naked – not what we look like or who we think might be looking at us. We also offer a reminder to the whole of society that there are alternative and more positive ways of regarding the human body. Whether or not people want to participate in Naturism directly, therefore, the Naturist community is a useful reminder to the whole of society that the body need not be a matter of shame and embarrassment.

More and more people are finding that Naturism is good for their mental and physical health. It’s a truly liberating and exhilarating experience. There’s a certain thrill attached to shrugging off convention, being at one with nature, and enjoying the sheer exhilaration of the sun, breeze and water on the skin. Many Naturists report an epiphany when they first discovered the pleasure of swimming naked, and never want to go back to wearing costumes. And sunlight on the skin is the best natural source of vitamin D.
Many of us will have visited the beach, going through the merry dance of putting on clothes only to get them wet in the sea, then shivering when we come out as we try to change under a towel, or travelling home in a horrible wet costume. Avoiding that is itself an advertisement for Naturism. And some fashionable long “swim shorts” for men cause drag when swimming and could be actively dangerous.

Increased interest in Naturism has been evident in the UK during the Covid era, as people find they have more time to themselves when not in their work environments. Significant numbers of people have acquired home hot tubs, for example, which they can enjoy unencumbered by swimming costumes. The only way really to understand the sheer pleasure of Naturism is to try it for yourself!
 
7. Safety and safeguarding at Naturist events
There is no evidence that Naturism – or the sight of a naked person walking, cycling, swimming or sunbathing – is in any way harmful to children or, for that matter adults.

Indeed, the evidence reported by reputable researchers (see above) is that being brought up in households where nudity was commonplace has no meaningful effect on children's outcomes as an adult. Nonetheless, we encourage Naturist ramblers, for example, to be sensible and cover up when in the vicinity of schools or other places where there are likely to be families with children. It will not always be immediately clear from the context or situation what someone’s nudity means.

Naturist swimming sessions held in public leisure centres require everyone who attends to be known in advance – either because they are members of the organising club or by booking. The organisers therefore know who is present and require clear photo identification of anyone who is new. By contrast, anyone can walk in off the street into any public swimming pool and no checks are made. For that reason, Naturist events are, if anything, safer than more public ones.

Any children attending such events are required to be accompanied by their parent or guardian. And British Naturism operates a robust safeguarding policy so that anyone at our events or our clubs found to have acted inappropriately towards children or vulnerable adults would be immediately expelled, and would never gain re-admittance.

Nobody with a sex offending record is allowed to join British Naturism or other reputable Naturist clubs, and if a member is found to have committed a sexual offence they are immediately expelled.

There have been no reports of any sexual offences in a British Naturist environment in more than a decade. The community remains as concerned as any other part of society to ensure children and everyone else who might be at risk are kept safe.
 
8. There is no sexual element to Naturism
It’s simply not true that Naturism is about sex. We’re Naturists, not swingers.
The truth is, as any long-term participant of Naturism will tell you, Naturist events are not at all sexually charged. Arguably, skimpy swimming costumes or underwear are a lot more provocative than full nudity.
Anyone involved in a Naturist event who behaves in an overtly sexual manner will be ejected. No doubt many Naturists enjoy fulfilling sex lives. But, like everyone else, they conduct their sex lives in private. Naturists are also quite often asked if men get erections at Naturist events, but there is no sexual atmosphere or context in a Naturist gathering and this is not something that is seen at Naturist events. In the very unlikely event it were to happen, say to a new Naturist, they would be expected to turn over or cover up.
 
9. Using phrases such as ‘naked ambition’ and ‘bare-faced cheek’ is hackneyed, and can hamper attempts to report fairly and accurately
We keep our sense of humour even when we’ve heard it a few times before. We have to be able to laugh at ourselves, especially with all the weak puns about “bare-faced cheek” and the like that typically appear in press coverage about Naturists.

But the idea that the naked human body is automatically funny is schoolboy humour, something that has generated a whole industry of “saucy” seaside postcards and greetings cards. As Naturists we are particularly mindful of the fact that these jokes do reinforce the idea that bodies are awkward, embarrassing and something to be ashamed of.

Most journalists would err on the side of caution if tempted to make similar tired puns or jokes aimed at a particular race, gender or sexual orientation, or some other minority community. Why should Naturists be any different?

It’s the same with images. We acknowledge that uncensored images of simply human nudity might be outside your editorial guidelines, but covering ‘private parts’ with clip art such as melons or beach balls, or blurring or pixellating, would be to contradict what Naturism is actually about. Rather than giving a false impression we suggest using cropped shots and shots of bare bottoms will illustrate any piece well enough. Do contact BN for a selection of our images for use by the media, we should have something that will work for you.

Want to know more?
British Naturism enjoys positive, mutually-beneficial relationships with journalists and others who would like to produce an item about Naturism including those who would like to experience it. 

Please visit our Media Centre for contacts and additional help.