No sex on the beach: Dutch town warns nudist visitors after complaints

By India Today World Desk: A town in the Netherlands has started a campaign to dissuade nudist beach visitors from having sex on the beach and in the dunes after receiving a string of complaint from locals.

Veere, a municipality in the Netherlands, put up amended beachside boards on Thursday warning frisky guests that the dunes are legally off limits, public sex is banned and there is “increased monitoring” to combat “sexual meeting place activities in the dunes, nature reserve and beach”.

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The campaign – ‘Project Oranjezon’ – was inspired by a stream of complaints to the municipality, water board and local nature organisation about “sex acts carried out by naked recreationists”, and indications that certain groups were pre-arranging liaisons, reported The Guardian.

Veere’s mayor, Frederiek Schouwenaar, told the Observer in a statement, “The dunes are hugely important to the local community and must be protected from undesirable behaviour that damages the natural environment and can disturb other holidaymakers. This is an important step to ensure public order and safety.”

There will be no more warnings from authorities, but immediate “verbal” enforcement and eight new information boards have been put up.

The campaign was backed by SGP – a conservative, Calvinist party, which recently won the largest share in local elections.

“We greatly appreciate the fact that our mayor is taking enforcement action: these excesses need to be combatted,” Perry de Visser, a spokesperson for the party, told the Observer.

Naturist organisations also believe it is important to distance nude sunbathing from sexual activity.

Karlien Lodewijk, a spokesperson for the NFN Open en Bloot (open and bare) naked recreation association, said: “Sex outdoors is not naked recreation, and people who come to sunbathe find it just as much of a nuisance as other people do. Naked recreation â€æ gives a real feeling of freedom, and it’s very healthy to see real, naked bodies that are not photoshopped. But we distance ourselves from sex outdoors.”