July 11, 2012- GoTopless strongly denounces the arrest of Holly Van Voast, who was handcuffed and taken to a mental hospital on Sunday just for standing topless outside a Hooters restaurant in New York City. When the arrest occurred, Van Voast was simply standing outside a Midtown Hooters location with friends, preparing to honor the 20th anniversary of the day New York became a legally topless state: July 7, 1992. (please see our news sections for more details on this historical date)

Ms. Van Voast was within her legal rights to go topless there, but the police treated her like a deranged, violent person. It’s outrageous!
After the arrest, to add to her humiliation, she was forced to wait several hours in a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. This incident was an act of pure insanity on the part of the NYPD and of a deranged society in general.
Are men taken to mental hospitals and made to undergo psychiatric evaluations for taking off their shirts? This is an extreme case of a women’s rights violation; it constitutes blatant discrimination against women, and it’s also a human rights violation that can’t be tolerated in a democracy that prides itself for policing the world over human rights issues. The NYPD must be prosecuted immediately!

This latest topless-related arrest is especially noteworthy because of another New York City court case in 2007, concerning a public topless charge. Phoenix Feeley and her attorney, Jeff Rothman, successfully sued New York City for wrongful arrest, forcing the city to pay $29,000 in damages.