Public swimming pools lack the legal authority to compel guests to wear certain kinds of attire, a lawyer working for Reykjanesbær municipality on Reykjanes peninsula, finds. The municipality had commissioned the legal analysis as it considered whether to approve rules which would have mandated that female guests cover their breasts while at the pool. Following the legal analysis the municipality will not impose such rules.
No basis for banning topless swimming
Last month the Reykjavík City municipal council issued a statement re-iterating that there were no rules at Reykjavik pools which required women cover their breasts. The only rule regarding attire at Reykjavík pools is that all guests, whether male or female, are required to wear appropriate swim trunks.
The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports that the legal analysis drafted for Reykjanesbær is the first attempt to determine whether guests at swimming pools in Iceland could be compelled to wear certain types of attire. The analysis finds that there are no written rules or laws which could provide a basis a ban on swimming topless, and that such rules would in all likelihood be unconstitutional as they would set different standards for people based on their gender.
Read more: Young Icelander received the Global Youth of the Year Award for Free the Nipple
Furthermore, the analysis points out that action like the Free the Nipple campaign, where feminist activists staged topless events in public places like downtown Reykjavík and public pools, is protected under freedom of speech clauses of the Icelandic constitution, as well as the International Declaration of Human Rights.
Public swimming pools lack the legal authority to compel guests to wear certain kinds of attire, a lawyer working for Reykjanesbær municipality on Reykjanes peninsula, finds. The municipality had commissioned the legal analysis as it considered whether to approve rules which would have mandated that female guests cover their breasts while at the pool. Following the legal analysis the municipality will not impose such rules.
No basis for banning topless swimming
Last month the Reykjavík City municipal council issued a statement re-iterating that there were no rules at Reykjavik pools which required women cover their breasts. The only rule regarding attire at Reykjavík pools is that all guests, whether male or female, are required to wear appropriate swim trunks.
The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service reports that the legal analysis drafted for Reykjanesbær is the first attempt to determine whether guests at swimming pools in Iceland could be compelled to wear certain types of attire. The analysis finds that there are no written rules or laws which could provide a basis a ban on swimming topless, and that such rules would in all likelihood be unconstitutional as they would set different standards for people based on their gender.
Read more: Young Icelander received the Global Youth of the Year Award for Free the Nipple
Furthermore, the analysis points out that action like the Free the Nipple campaign, where feminist activists staged topless events in public places like downtown Reykjavík and public pools, is protected under freedom of speech clauses of the Icelandic constitution, as well as the International Declaration of Human Rights.
