Sadly, many of the mental health challenges we all encounter are man-made and should be avoidable. Things like money and the pressure of life affect us all. But perhaps the saddest factor is that so many are targeted by prejudice and discrimination, purely because of the way they live their lives. Naturists occasionally suffer discrimination, and this is probably the reason that despite the IPSOS survey of 2022 telling us that there are nearly 7 million Naturists in the UK, Naturists are not encountered that often and prefer to keep to themselves. Other groups suffer much greater discrimination. Homophobia made the lives of the LGBTQ+ community miserable, even dangerous, for decades. Transphobia persists even today. Alternative subcultures are targeted as seen in the death of goth, Sophie Lancaster. Even racism still appears to be ingrained in much of society.
The tragedy here is that there are no justifiable grounds for such discrimination. A person’s characteristics affect themselves and don’t usually affect the wellbeing of others, and yet we see discrimination occur when some people object to others making different decisions and in the worst cases for the enjoyment of causing hurt. It is for this reason that British Naturism worked so closely with the Law Commission during the review of Hate Crime legislation and Hate Speech. Although no additional protections were recommended by the Commission at that time, existing protections weren’t eroded as we and others collated evidence of the impact of hatred.
British Naturism is committed to standing up for equality and ensuring that all are welcome and treated equally. Many members of the LGBTQ+ community join the organisation because they feel at home and find a peace at Naturist events that they often don’t feel elsewhere. The core values of Naturism are respect and protecting the characteristics of those around us and are one of the reasons that Naturism has such a positive impact on the mental wellbeing of so many people. So, if you are looking for a community that will accept you and welcome you as you are, this is the place.