 First of all there is no such general
offence as 'indecent exposure'.
There is an offence of 'Exposure' but the name is misleading. It is
actually 'Aggressive Exposure'. It was very carefully worded so that it
could not be applied to naturists. The important point is that there
must be intent to cause fear, alarm or distress. The defining judgment
states that 'outraging is a very strong word' and that the behaviour
must go well beyond merely offensive. The offence must be in a public
place but the definition of public place is rather technical.
There are no specific prohibitions of
nudity. The Victorian statutes have all been repealed. Also the enabling power for councils to make bye laws regulating the decency
of swim suits has been repealed to ... protect naturists from busy
body ... councillors.
Public Order legislation is sometimes used against naturists. The old
favourite of police and authorities when they want to make up the law as
they go along is section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. But when the
victim refuses to be bullied, the prosecution finds it difficult to
obtain convictions.
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