Roni Fine of British Naturism tries to find a path for naturist clubs through the new Act.
I suspect we have all heard about the “Equality Act 2010” but do we all understand how it might affect us?
Whilst it ought to be enough to think before we speak and respect one another, we now have to be reminded to do so by a law and if we forget our manners, or have no conscience, we pay for it in the courts when we are sued. Maybe we deserve it? But it could be that we just don’t realise we are doing wrong, though that excuse would not be accepted in court.
Laws are frequently written for the workplace and are often not applicable in other areas but restrictions are constantly changing. Private members clubs, (deemed to be so when they have 25 or more members and a selection process for membership) which some naturist clubs are, used to fall outside the area of many rules but are now included along with other associations, so we must all be familiar with current legislation and be ready to make changes to keep within the boundaries. The law protects both club members and those employed within naturist businesses.
The law is a minefield for most of us and what is worse is the fact that politicians seem to forget where they laid their mines, because when you try to find a map of their explosives you find yourself in a maze of references to schedules, sections, paragraphs and dates but never one piece of straightforward advice in everyday English that answers the particular question you presented to them!
Here is my attempt to rectify that! First, you must be aware of the protected characteristics for “Private clubs and other associations”.
These are: race, disability, religion or
belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender
reassignment and pregnancy & maternity.
Race: this includes ethnic or national origins, colour and nationality.
Disability: this is perhaps the easiest one to understand. Having a disability must not affect the way you are treated or your access to places and work. Businesses and service providers need to make “reasonable” adjustments to cater for disabled people such as replacing steps with ramps for wheelchair access, providing specific equipment and allowing “working dogs” into premises.
What is deemed “reasonable” will depend on factors such as practicability and the cost of making the adjustments.
We at Blackthorns have included a disabled accessible toilet (with a wider door and suitably placed grab handles and an emergency alarm pull cord), when we built the extension to our clubhouse and we have drawn up plans to replace existing steps with a ramp to access the static caravan we have for hire.
Religion or Belief: a person must not be made to suffer for their beliefs and it should make no difference to how they are treated. Their needs should be met where possible; if a person of a certain faith asked for a quiet room in which to conduct their prayers and there was one available, it would be deemed reasonable to allow its use.
Sex: Males and females should be treated equally. The obvious example is perhaps equal pay for equal work, or the right for women to vote. Golf clubs can no longer have days on which the ladies cannot play but the men can. However, sporting events can be segregated by gender because the physical strength, stamina or physique of an average woman would put her at a disadvantage compared with an average man. This means we can continue to have separate teams for Petanque and Miniten tournaments, if we choose to.
Sexual Orientation: it must make no difference whether you are heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bi. One’s personal view on this should remain just that and the people involved treated the same as any other. Paternity leave for either parent is now happening in the work place and it would apply to same-sex parents too.
Gender Reassignment: those making a switch from one gender to another must not be persecuted. Suitable facilities such as changing rooms and toilets must be discussed and agreed upon. At least in the naturist community it would be clear who was what, as it would be unlawful to discriminate against someone because they are thought to be transsexual when they are not!
Pregnancy and Maternity: it should make no difference to how women are treated unless there is reasonable belief that it is done in the interest of her, or the baby’s, health and safety. Sick leave from work that is pregnancy-related should not be held against the person or affect their work record. Whilst breastfeeding will be more acceptable in public places, or restaurants, there is no automatic right to do so in the workplace. I think this is one aspect that would be totally acceptable within a naturist club as we are already body-accepting so no-one would be shocked at the sight of a breast or nipple!
british-naturism: this is one more category but it is only in effect within the workplace and not in clubs or businesses who sell services unless, of course, the club or business employs people. A civil partner elsewhere, treated less favourably than a married one, could bring a claim under sexual orientation discrimination.
The Equality Act includes provisions enabling introduction of a ban on Age discrimination by private clubs against their members, associates and guests but these have not been brought into force yet. The Coalition Government is currently considering further how these provisions can be implemented in the best way for businesses and others affected. Things such as child bus tickets and Senior Citizens discounts will have to be considered. It’s been common practice for car insurance to cost more for young males than young females as they are known to have more accidents and cost the companies more in pay-outs, but it might become unlawful to differentiate unless they decide to make exception due to the recorded proof of this fact. There are so many examples that would become unlawful if not carefully considered and allowed for. Clubs can, for the moment, offer concessions where they see fit, but be prepared for change!
There is also, of course, the category of Harassment The law says that“Businesses which provide goods, facilities or services must not allow their customers to be subjected to harassment.” The Equality Act 2010 names two main types of harassment, “unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic” and “unwanted conduct that is sexual in nature”. “The conduct must have the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them”. Harassment only occurs when the conduct is unwanted.
This can involve something directly or indirectly aimed at a person but in hearing it, they can make a claim of harassment.
There is something called “Positive Action” which is done specifically to help someone who has a protected characteristic, such as being underrepresented in an activity or a type of work. I have seen the Fire Brigade advertise for recruits saying “applicants from female ethnic minorities would be favoured” and this would be acceptable if their records showed an under-representation in that category. Of course, all other conditions for the vacancy would have to be equal, such as qualifications and experience. If a golf club has fewer lady members, they could hold an open morning exclusively for women to try the sport. Whilst Positive Action is allowed, it is entirely voluntary. It follows that naturist clubs that have a plentiful supply of single males could also use this proviso and run an advertising campaign to attract single females to balance the numbers. Of course, this would need to be supported by evidence so they would need to consult their records and have facts and figures ready if challenged. They too could hold an open day to welcome women and encourage them to embrace the naturist lifestyle.
Throughout the documents the most common examples refer to a golf club and I do wish naturist clubs were held in the same esteem, but I think the day will come; it’s up to us to portray naturism as a respectable pastime and then maybe we will be used as an example in future!
I think we are all aware there is either a real, or perceived, problem regarding the number of single males in naturism and that is the main area you might need to rethink. So many clubs complain that there are too many single males asking to join and some clubs have, in the past, flatly refused to accommodate them. Private Members Clubs could do this, but always at the risk of being challenged and taken to court where you would have become the test case and the outcome would have depended on who the judge was on the day and what they thought of naturism. Now that there are “Quick Start Guides “ for “Private clubs and other Associations” and for “Businesses who sell goods and services” there really is no excuse to break the law and it would be unwise to think you could get away with it.
Refusing membership to single males will no longer be acceptable. Of course, you can refuse membership for other reasons which you deem will make them unsuitable but it must not involve any of the protected characteristics. (Single membership is not necessarily a reference to marital status but the alternative to a joint membership for two people).
It appears that you could refuse membership for people of single status, as that is not a protected characteristic but it would have to cover both males and females and although the majority of single applicants seem to be male, it would be a shame to turn away single females, but that is for individual clubs to decide.
It also seems you could lawfully recruit within a specified catchment area, but it would have to apply to every member.
Hopefully clubs will allow all genuine, decent, well behaved naturists to join and take the protected characteristics in their stride and not see the new law as a problem, after all, you have nothing to fear if you are on the right side of the law and treating your fellow man, I mean woman, no......I mean people, fairly!
This is my own summary of the Equality Act 2010 as I understand it but I do advise you to view the sites from which I have quoted as they give further explanations and examples:
www.equalities.gov.uk from the GEO
(Government Equalities Office)
www.equalityhumanrights.com
None of the information contained in this feature constitutes legal advice.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Pride and Fighting Prejudice
Brian Taylor of British Naturism on how we can all argue for naturism
We should all learn to be proud of our Naturism, because there is much to recommend our way of life. The world would be a better place if everyone were to adopt our lifestyle and beliefs. There is evidence that sexual crime would reduce as well as teenage pregnancies, just for starters. This evidence comes from those nations where social nudity is far more widely accepted, Germany, Denmark and Sweden are all good examples, but are by no means the only ones.
My own experience and one I have heard many other Naturists agree with, is that stripped of the mask of our clothing we become nicer people; more able to relate to one another. The bin man can talk to the barrister without being aware of their different status in society and therefore without being intimidated by those differences. I was asked recently how I defined a Naturist. After much thought, I arrived at Naturists being people who are open and honest enough to simply be themselves. When you have no designer labels to hide behind, what else can you do?
It is with this sense of pride in the benefits of Naturism that I set about trawling through the prejudice shown by the media and some members of the public. Not all media reports are prejudiced and there are signs that things are getting better. A radio presenter I was talking to recently claimed to have noticed a marked improvement over the last five years.
There is still a long way to go and even when a press report is good, it often draws bigoted online comments from a highly prejudiced minority. We know it’s a minority because our survey ten years ago revealed that 88% of the public considered Naturists ‘harmless’ and only 8% thought us ‘disgusting’. It just seems as though that 8% are the most vocal!
An opinion formed without knowledge of the facts, is a prejudice. Here are some of the more common prejudices I encounter and some of the ways I attempt to use facts to counter them:
I don’t mind it myself, but think of other people...
This one is quite easy: If you don’t mind it, what makes you think others will? Our survey results, as mentioned above, are useful here as it shows that the vast majority of people don’t mind it. A variation of this is to say that older people might be shocked; I think it is safe to say that the majority of the older generation have seen it all before and know what a naked person looks like!
A further variation, and a particular favourite, is:
"Not in front of children".
This always warrants special treatment. Firstly I establish that children are not born afraid of nudity – why would they be? I point out how babies and toddlers revel in the freedom of their own nakedness and are completely unfazed by the nakedness of others, of any age. At this point it is always worth pointing out that it is parents’ and society’s prejudices that condition a child into being ashamed of their body and therefore shocked if anyone else reveals their’s. This shame can have very negative consequences in the form of eating disorders or demands for plastic surgery when these children become teenagers. In the course of my work as PRO I sometimes come across quotes that ring so true, I store them away for later use. Here is one of my favourites:
“It’s been shown that young boys raised in a puritanical environment have a greater interest in pornography. Girls raised in a puritanical environment tend to be more ashamed or fearful of their bodies. Children raised in a nudist family are comfortable with their bodies and the bodies of the opposite sex. They’re more likely to understand that the portrayal of the nude body in the media is hyped and false.”
This has lead to many a discussion when I have posted it on someone’s blog or in answer to a question on sites like Yahoo! Answers. Most are convinced by it. It also could give a clue as to why a prudish society might suffer a higher teenage pregnancy rate with curious boys putting pressure on insecure girls...
Whilst on the subject of children:
I’m a Christian, it’s against my religion
For this there is another quote, so useful that I am in danger of over-using it. Pope John Paul II wrote in his book The Theology of the Body:
“The human body can remain nude and uncovered and preserve intact its splendour and its beauty... Nakedness as such is not to be equated with physical shamelessness... Immodesty is present only when nakedness plays a negative role with regard to the value of the person...The human body is not in itself shameful... Shamelessness (just like shame and modesty) is a function of the interior of a person.”
Having said that, I didn’t use it once in all the replies I made to the recent debacle about Manchester Cathedral promoting the Christian Naturists group; surely, the very existence of a Christian Naturist group speaks for itself! I frequently refer people to their website.
Public Nudity is/should be Illegal
Firstly I point out that it isn’t illegal in the UK, although I have to sound a word of caution for Scotland where a more prudish attitude leads to an over-zealous application of the Public Order Act or common law of Outraging Public Decency despite published guidance south of the border that indicates it requires more than simple nudity to secure a conviction.
Another of my favourite quotes, this time from Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, a former home secretary:
“If you want to stop people doing something which they enjoy doing, which they believe is within their liberty of action, then you’ve got to have an overwhelming social case. If you’re going to stop them, you shouldn’t do it out of prejudice or out of habit, but only because you can show that a definite social evil results.”
I then go on to describe many of the social benefits evidenced by those nations where social nudity is more accepted and common and I challenge anyone to come up with a proven social evil. No-one ever has, of course.
All Naturists are old/fat/ugly
If the complainant is any of these things themselves, I sympathise with them over their very poor self-image and point out that Naturism is known to build body- confidence. If they are young, slim and good looking, then I point out that with their attitude they have a sorry life ahead of them as we all get old eventually, or at least the lucky ones do. Mostly I point out that Naturists are more representative of the population as a whole than the photo- shopped models in the media and that their view of humanity has clearly been distorted by that media.
Naturists are all voyeurs/exhibitionists
How then do you explain the joy of stripping off on a sunny day on your own in a secluded place with no-one else about? I suggest they try it sometime, to find out what I mean.
I could go on, but I will conclude by saying that I shouldn’t be a lone voice and would like to encourage all of you to refute prejudice whenever you come across it and have the pride to speak up for the benefits of Naturism. To those who do, I say well done and thanks. BN
We should all learn to be proud of our Naturism, because there is much to recommend our way of life. The world would be a better place if everyone were to adopt our lifestyle and beliefs. There is evidence that sexual crime would reduce as well as teenage pregnancies, just for starters. This evidence comes from those nations where social nudity is far more widely accepted, Germany, Denmark and Sweden are all good examples, but are by no means the only ones.
My own experience and one I have heard many other Naturists agree with, is that stripped of the mask of our clothing we become nicer people; more able to relate to one another. The bin man can talk to the barrister without being aware of their different status in society and therefore without being intimidated by those differences. I was asked recently how I defined a Naturist. After much thought, I arrived at Naturists being people who are open and honest enough to simply be themselves. When you have no designer labels to hide behind, what else can you do?
It is with this sense of pride in the benefits of Naturism that I set about trawling through the prejudice shown by the media and some members of the public. Not all media reports are prejudiced and there are signs that things are getting better. A radio presenter I was talking to recently claimed to have noticed a marked improvement over the last five years.
There is still a long way to go and even when a press report is good, it often draws bigoted online comments from a highly prejudiced minority. We know it’s a minority because our survey ten years ago revealed that 88% of the public considered Naturists ‘harmless’ and only 8% thought us ‘disgusting’. It just seems as though that 8% are the most vocal!
An opinion formed without knowledge of the facts, is a prejudice. Here are some of the more common prejudices I encounter and some of the ways I attempt to use facts to counter them:
I don’t mind it myself, but think of other people...
This one is quite easy: If you don’t mind it, what makes you think others will? Our survey results, as mentioned above, are useful here as it shows that the vast majority of people don’t mind it. A variation of this is to say that older people might be shocked; I think it is safe to say that the majority of the older generation have seen it all before and know what a naked person looks like!
A further variation, and a particular favourite, is:
"Not in front of children".
This always warrants special treatment. Firstly I establish that children are not born afraid of nudity – why would they be? I point out how babies and toddlers revel in the freedom of their own nakedness and are completely unfazed by the nakedness of others, of any age. At this point it is always worth pointing out that it is parents’ and society’s prejudices that condition a child into being ashamed of their body and therefore shocked if anyone else reveals their’s. This shame can have very negative consequences in the form of eating disorders or demands for plastic surgery when these children become teenagers. In the course of my work as PRO I sometimes come across quotes that ring so true, I store them away for later use. Here is one of my favourites:
“It’s been shown that young boys raised in a puritanical environment have a greater interest in pornography. Girls raised in a puritanical environment tend to be more ashamed or fearful of their bodies. Children raised in a nudist family are comfortable with their bodies and the bodies of the opposite sex. They’re more likely to understand that the portrayal of the nude body in the media is hyped and false.”
This has lead to many a discussion when I have posted it on someone’s blog or in answer to a question on sites like Yahoo! Answers. Most are convinced by it. It also could give a clue as to why a prudish society might suffer a higher teenage pregnancy rate with curious boys putting pressure on insecure girls...
Whilst on the subject of children:
I’m a Christian, it’s against my religion
For this there is another quote, so useful that I am in danger of over-using it. Pope John Paul II wrote in his book The Theology of the Body:
“The human body can remain nude and uncovered and preserve intact its splendour and its beauty... Nakedness as such is not to be equated with physical shamelessness... Immodesty is present only when nakedness plays a negative role with regard to the value of the person...The human body is not in itself shameful... Shamelessness (just like shame and modesty) is a function of the interior of a person.”
Having said that, I didn’t use it once in all the replies I made to the recent debacle about Manchester Cathedral promoting the Christian Naturists group; surely, the very existence of a Christian Naturist group speaks for itself! I frequently refer people to their website.
Public Nudity is/should be Illegal
Firstly I point out that it isn’t illegal in the UK, although I have to sound a word of caution for Scotland where a more prudish attitude leads to an over-zealous application of the Public Order Act or common law of Outraging Public Decency despite published guidance south of the border that indicates it requires more than simple nudity to secure a conviction.
Another of my favourite quotes, this time from Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, a former home secretary:
“If you want to stop people doing something which they enjoy doing, which they believe is within their liberty of action, then you’ve got to have an overwhelming social case. If you’re going to stop them, you shouldn’t do it out of prejudice or out of habit, but only because you can show that a definite social evil results.”
I then go on to describe many of the social benefits evidenced by those nations where social nudity is more accepted and common and I challenge anyone to come up with a proven social evil. No-one ever has, of course.
All Naturists are old/fat/ugly
If the complainant is any of these things themselves, I sympathise with them over their very poor self-image and point out that Naturism is known to build body- confidence. If they are young, slim and good looking, then I point out that with their attitude they have a sorry life ahead of them as we all get old eventually, or at least the lucky ones do. Mostly I point out that Naturists are more representative of the population as a whole than the photo- shopped models in the media and that their view of humanity has clearly been distorted by that media.
Naturists are all voyeurs/exhibitionists
How then do you explain the joy of stripping off on a sunny day on your own in a secluded place with no-one else about? I suggest they try it sometime, to find out what I mean.
I could go on, but I will conclude by saying that I shouldn’t be a lone voice and would like to encourage all of you to refute prejudice whenever you come across it and have the pride to speak up for the benefits of Naturism. To those who do, I say well done and thanks. BN
Topless Femen Activists Protest Pension Reform In Kyiv
Three activists of the movement FEMEN organized a protest against the adoption of the pension reform by the Ukrainian parliament near the parliament building on Tuesday.
The topless girls, who had wreaths on their heads, ran in front of the central entrance to the parliament building, shouting "Down with Bull Reform!" They were holding red placards saying "Rada Is Bullpen."
After being detained by the police, the activists continued chanting their slogans and demanded their release.
Some time later, the girls were put in a police car and taken away. The police said the women had been detained for violating public order.
FEMEN leader Oleksandra Shevchenko told reporters the protest targeted the pension reform, which discriminates against Ukrainian women, "many of which will simply not live to their pension."
READ MORE
SOURCE: http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/73100/
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