Women can now swim topless in Berlin

City authorities in Berlin have confirmed that women can now legally swim topless in the city.  This ruling was passed following a discrimination complaint.

Lotte Mies, 33, raised a complaint after she was asked to leave a school for swimming topless.  Mies said that women should have the same rights as men while swimming in Berlin‘s public swimming pools.

The Berliner Baederbetriebe, which runs Berlin’s public pools, made the decision to change the permitted swimwear.

Prior to legislation being passed, as per Berliner Bäder, swimmers in Berlin had to wear “standard swimwear,” such as “swimming trunks, swimming shorts, bikini, swimsuit, burkini.”  As the legislation didn’t specify that women had to cover their chest, this led to many women attempting to swim topless.

Doris Liebscher, who is the head of the ombudsperson’s office, said they “very much welcomed the decision” of the Baederbetriebe.

“It establishes equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary, and because it also creates legal certainty for the staff,” she said.

Prior to this law, women were asked to leave pools if they swam topless, and in some cases were given a permanent ban.

“Now it is important that the regulation is applied consistently and that no more expulsions or house bans are issued,” Ms Liebscher added.

It has not yet been confirmed when the legislation will be rolled out.