Petition · past parliament

change of public decency law to allow women the exact same laws as men's nipples

Rejected 10 signatures

What the petition asks

A change in any law necessary to allow women to be topless in any public place that a man could. It's a topic that needs to be addressed and is always turned away. Normalise breasts!
The laws are outdated and sexist. It shouldn't be so confusing for women to be able to have the same rights as men.
We shouldn't have to tell you this stuff.
women are shamed or prosecuted for being topless which makes it feel like nothing has really changed in hundreds of years.
people are born with nipple no matter what gender, the laws shouldn't be different.
people are introduced to nipples from birth, so normalise something normal.

Why it was rejected

It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.

We understand you are concerned about public decency laws, however it is not an offence for a man or a woman to be topless in England and Wales, so long as the person has not taken off their clothes with the intention of shocking or upsetting others. It's therefore not clear what you want the Government to do to give women the "same rights" as men, given the law makes no distinction in this regard.

You can find out more about public decency laws in the context of nudity here: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/nudity-public-guidance-handling-cases-naturism and here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-33092812

Timeline

13 May 2022 Petition opened for signatures
17 May 2022 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 10
Status Rejected
Rejected 17 May 2022

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.