Public swimming pools in Catalonia must allow women to go topless

In Catalonia this summer, women will be allowed to go ‘topless’ in public swimming pools.

The Catalan government has sent a letter to all municipalities to remind them that “prohibiting women from using the facilities with a bare torso, known as ‘topless’, constitutes discrimination”.

It will also be illegal to discriminate against women who opt for “a swimsuit that covers more parts of their body”, such as the ‘burkini’ or full swimsuit.

The regional government, led by the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left (ERC), can in theory fine any town hall found to have breached the norm up to €500,000.

During the summer of 2022, the Catalan government claims it received several complaints of discrimination in public swimming pools.

For this reason, it decided to send the letter to the town halls last March, three months before the opening of the pools and with enough time to change the regulations.

The Catalan government insists that neither can a woman be banned from breastfeeding in a municipal swimming pool nor the entry of “any group because of their ethnic origin, such as racialised groups of young people or gypsy families”.