Spain summer camp under investigation for mixed showers involving minors

Bernedo Summer Camp: Mixed Showers with Minors and No Official Registration

A summer camp in Bernedo (Álava), organized by the association Sarrea Euskal Udaleku Elkartea, is under investigation by the Ertzaintza (Basque Police) at the request of the local council. Minors aged between 13 and 15 reported being forced to shower with adolescents of a different sens and described episodes that families characterize as abusive. The association defends mixed showers as a way to "normalize all bodies," but neither the Provincial Council of Álava nor the Basque Government has any record of the activity being registered.

Who is Sarrea Euskal Udaleku Elkartea and what do they advocate?

In a statement on social media, the association argues that mixed showers, "beyond being simply a place of hygiene," are "an opportunity to break stigmas and free ourselves from shame and sensual." The text, which details "the ideological foundations of their project," defines the experience as "a self-managed project based on feminism, the Basque language, and collaborative work" through which "one hundred people" have passed this summer. The entity claims it constantly protects "children and young people" and that each group made "many visits to the doctor."

The central argument is that "bathrooms and showers are tools for division based on binary gender logic" and that such division "marginalizes many bodies and identities" causing "situations of discomfort and discrimination." Hence their proposal: using showers as "a place to deconstruct our sensual." The statement does not clarify whether the necessary permits for an activity involving minors were requested or if parents were informed beforehand. It does specify that participants "are explained the situation" upon arrival "and offered resources to reflect."

What do families allege and what is the police investigating?

Parents who raised the alarm deny having prior knowledge of this bathroom model. Among the facts reported to the Ertzaintza, according to a complaint filed at the Zarautz police station, is a nighttime episode where counselors danced naked around a bonfire and attempted to involve a minor who began to cry. The association denies in its text that anyone was forced "to undress in front of others," although it does not mention other events narrated by the teenagers. Nor does it explain if the parents knew anything.

Security Minister Bigen Zupiria stated that the activity "did not appear in any public register." Neither the Provincial Council of Álava nor the Basque Government had records of the permits. The association condemns the publication of "defamatory" and "transphobic" messages against the collective.

The illegal registration: no permit or administrative trace

The point that most bothers the administration is not ideological, but bureaucratic. A camp with minors requires authorization and prior communication to the competent authority. According to available data, that communication did not exist or is not recorded. The Provincial Council of Álava and the Basque Government deny it; the association does not clarify it in its statement. This void turns a conflict of values into a legal problem.

Some argue that the lack of registration proves the project was designed to operate outside administrative control. Others point to simple organizational negligence. The fact is that, to date, the Ertzaintza continues to investigate and there is no judicial conclusion.

Echoes in the public debate

The issue has evolved into a broader discussion about indoctrination in activities funded with public money and the responsibility of parents who enroll their children without verifying the project. One part of the analysis holds that parents are co-responsible for not informing themselves; another recalls that trust in a summer activity does not equate to consenting to any practice. Comparisons with abuse cases in religious environments appear repeatedly: if the person responsible were a priest, they argue, the media treatment would be different.

The association insists that every year they see "very positive results" and frames everything within "transfeminist" values to create "safe spaces for all bodies." The problem is that the definition of "safe" is set by the organizer, not by those sending their child.

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With these elements, it is foreseeable that the investigation will advance towards the administrative aspect before the incivil one. If a sanction appears for operating without registration, the precedent will affect other self-managed camps functioning in the same gray area. If not, the question remains: who monitors what is done with minors when no one signs the permit?