Travel Securely Securely Travel
UPDATED 23 June 2018 Inflight Sexual Assault on JetBlue:
Flying passengers need to take steps to protect themselves from sexual assault on aircraft. And while the odds of an incident occurring may be low, the incident of 20 June 2018, on a JetBlue flight is sufficiently demonstrable that such can and does occur.
We recently learned that on 20 June 2018, that Andrew Baker, the adult son of Massachusetts Governor, Charlie Baker has been accused of sexually assaulting a onem on a JetBlue flight from Washington DC to Boston. NBC10 Boston tells us:
JetBlue commented:
#BREAKING: Gov. Charlie Baker's son has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman, sources tell the NBC10 Boston Investigators. https://t.co/gpjQytXNgL
— NBC10 Boston (@NBC10Boston) June 22, 2018
A reader recommendation.
A reader suggested the use of a “sleeping sack” or sleeping bag liner as a means to cocoon oneself on flights on which they intend to sleep. The reader said, “I like the little bit of buffer it provides.”
We did a quick search and found one on Amazon that fit that description.
The FBI’s April 2018 awareness briefings and outreach re Inflight Sexual Assault on Aircraft is now hitting mainstream media.
The attacks happen more often on long-haul flights, according to the FBI who shared this observation.
Crimes aboard aircraft fall within the FBI’s jurisdiction, and in the case of in-flight sexual assaults, agents describe elements of these crimes as being strikingly similar. The attacks generally occur on long-haul flights when the cabin is dark. The victims are usually in middle or window seats, sleeping, and covered with a blanket or jacket. They report waking up to their seatmate’s hands inside their clothing or underwear.
FBI Suggests how to protect yourself from Inflight Sexual Assault
The FBI offers the following precautions which travelers may take to protect themselves.
- Trust your gut. Offenders will often test their victims, sometimes pretending to brush against them to see how they react or if they wake up. “Don’t give them the benefit of the doubt,” Gates said. If such behavior occurs, reprimand the person immediately, and consider asking to be moved to another seat.
- Recognize that mixing alcohol with sleeping pills or other medication on an overnight flight increases your risk. “Don’t knock yourself out with alcohol or drugs,” Gates said.
- If your seatmate is a stranger, no matter how polite he or she may seem, keep the armrest between you down.
- If you are arranging for a child to fly unaccompanied, try to reserve an aisle seat so flight attendants can keep a closer watch on them. Highley has seen victims as young as 8 years old.
- If an incident happens, report it immediately to the flight crew and ask that they record the attacker’s identity and report the incident. “Flight attendants and captains represent authority on the plane,” Gates said. “We don’t want them to be police officers, but they can alert law enforcement, and they can sometimes deal with the problem in the air.” The flight crew can also put the offender on notice, which might prevent further problems.
From NBC Evening News 21 June 2018.
