British Naturism applauds the introduction of body-scanners in airport security


British Naturism (BN) have praised the introduction of full body scanners at UK airports in the fight against terrorism and say say that those that oppose them because it produces a "near naked" image are putting baseless prejudice ahead of people's lives.


Malcolm Boura, BN’s officer in charge of Campaigns, said,
“Children have been used to carry bombs but they have been excluded from scanner trials at Manchester owing to the over broad and over vague Protection of Children Act. It is an example of what happens when moral panic drives legislation instead of rational consideration of facts. It is a denial of human rights for people to be put at risk because of the body shame of a minority. It is completely unacceptable for naturists and naturist children to be put at risk because of body prejudice that they do not share. The law is increasing the risk of children (and adults) being killed due to misguided and badly worded legislation coupled with over-zealous enforcement. The assumption that nudity is a problem will sooner or later result in a lot of people losing their lives and if children are excluded then it will encourage terrorists to use children to carry bombs.


The American Association For Nude Recreation has also endorsed the body scans declaring that security is more important than parochial concerns over a scanned image of a clothed body.


Visit our website for more information on our Campaigning work including briefing and advice notes, and submissions to Central Government.



Contacts:
BN Commercial Manager:
Andrew Welch
01753 481527
07774 955138
commercial.manager@british-naturism.org.uk

Notes for Editors


· British Naturism (BN) is the UK’s officially recognised naturist organisation. It exists to support and unite naturists around the UK and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2004, although its predecessors have been in existence since the 1930s.


· Amongst the aims of BN are to campaign for more places to be made available for naturism and to protect naturists against discrimination and Victorian attitudes to the human body.


· Fact – there is no offence of nudity. Various pieces of legislation and common law are often mentioned in connection with naturism but they are not relevant.


· In the UK, there are over 130 sun clubs, swim clubs and holiday resorts and 12 “officially designated” naturist beaches, with many others used regularly by naturists. Membership of BN is around 12,000 people with many more being members of clubs affiliated to BN. The calendar of naturist events – not all run by British Naturism – is packed for 2010. There are also thousands of UK naturists who enjoy holidays and beaches in the UK and abroad without being members of recognised naturist organisations.


· YBN (Young British Naturists) has a membership of young men and women between the ages of 16 and 30 who get together at clubs and beaches many weekends. They represented the UK at the International Naturist Federation (INF) Youth Rally held in Italy in 2009, following Holland in 2008 and hosted the Rally themselves in the UK in May 2007 – see our YBN pages for details.


· Naturism is good for you. Naturists report improvements in well-being, stress, chronic illness, self-esteem and body image. It’s also a sensible choice of dress when the weather is warm. Naturists are normal people. The only difference between activities inside and outside of naturism is the dress code. See FAQs about naturism.


· It is a fallacy to believe that naked children are any more at risk of abuse in a naturist environment. In addition, unaccompanied children are not permitted in naturist places and the community spirit that pervades ensures that a watchful eye is present. Despite the perception, there are far fewer problems in naturism than in more “public” places where children and adults mix. Mindful of the need to be aware of child safeguarding issues, however, BN have a robust child safeguarding policy , a code of practice, and have a Child Safeguarding sub-committee that meets regularly and runs workshops on the subject, sometimes to groups from outside the naturist world.


· For more information on British Naturism, please visit our website at
www.british-naturism.org.uk/. For the media, there is a dedicated “Media Centre” at
www.british-naturism.org.uk/mediacentre/, which contains useful information for those wishing to write about naturism or to feature this wonderful world in their publications or programmes, including a downloadable Media Information Pack. There is also a contact page, to ensure that any enquiries are directed to the right person and gain an appropriate and speedy reply.