Over a third of women working in aviation have been sexually assaulted in workplace, survey finds
The landmark study conducted by Unite the union polled its 30,000 female members in the aviation sector on whether they had experienced sexual harassment while at work, travelling to work, or from a colleague, either in or out of work hours.
The results revealed that 34 per cent of women cabin crew, front-of-desk staff and baggage handlers have been sexually assaulted at work.
In addition, 11 per cent of women polled said they had been a victim of sexual coercion in the workplace – when a person pressures, tricks, threatens, or manipulates someone into engaging in sexual activity without genuine consent.
The survey, which forms part of Unite's Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment campaign, found that 67 per cent had experienced unwanted flirting, gesturing or sexual remarks, 65 per cent had been the recipient of sexually offensive jokes, 55 per cent had been inappropriately touched and over four in 10 (40 per cent) had been shared or shown pornographic images by a manager, colleague or third party such as a passenger.
Of those who reported being sexual harassed at work, the majority said it was not a one-off occasion, with almost half (47 per cent) experiencing it more than twice, while a third (34 per cent) experienced it more than once.
Many respondents said they didn't report harassment they had experienced or witnessed as they worried they wouldn't be believed or it would put their job at risk, while others felt it was not taken seriously when they did raise it.
Over three quarters (76 per cent) said the issue was not addressed or tackled by management.
'I experienced sexual harassment from passengers and management never do anything about it,' said one woman.
'They say passengers come and go and there is a small chance you will see them again.'
Another said: 'Management laughed off my experience where a crew member with a known history of sexual assault touched me inappropriately. They protected him, not me.'
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Staff safety should be among the highest priorities for employers in the civil air transport industry but the results of our survey are damning and show women workers are being failed by bosses.
'Nobody should suffer sexual harassment in the workplace. Unite is committed to taking a zero-tolerance approach and we will put every employer turning a blind eye on notice.
'We will fight every step of the way to stamp out workplace harassment once and for all. Every worker deserves a safe working environment and should feel able to report harassment.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
At first I thought the man in the mask was playing a joke. Then I heard the screams... he raised his knife and came for me
Horrific images are seared indelibly into their minds; an abiding terror keeps them in a state of perpetual high alert. They have lost their trust, their innocence; the growing independence of their carefree childhoods. One year on from the Southport stabbings – in which three young girls were murdered and ten others injured – one family has a singular story to tell; a tale of two daughters who were both at the studio for a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop when the horror unfolded, as Axel Rudakubana, then 17, ran amok with a knife on his killing spree. Today it is the elder of the two children, at the time aged 13, who recalls just how close she came to death on that sunny summer's day which began with such hope and happiness.
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
PETER HITCHENS: The drug dealers that shot past me at 40mph and why I fear we're not being told how many people are being killed in e-bike crashes
Millions of people will have been cheered by the Daily Mail's exclusive report yesterday, in which David Churchill revealed that ministers are thinking of doing something about the menace of e-scooters. It has taken them a long time, even though these mechanised tin trays have become a symbol of lawlessness, danger and disorder since they first began to infest our streets a few years ago.
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'I looked at the camera and my blood ran cold': Mother describes her horror at seeing CCTV of a pervert burglar who broke into her Marbella home in the dead of night - and leered her naked body as she slept
A woman has told how she felt violated after a burglar broke into her home in the dead of the night and leered at her naked body as she slept. Angie Castillo was in a deep sleep laying next to her boyfriend Alex Varona, 34, when the intruder hold a torch gained entry to their Costa Del Sol property and and 'inspect' her close up. Angie, a mother-of-one, was unaware of what had happened to her until the following day when she noticed her purse was missing and the couple checked the CCTV footage in their home. To their horror, the 32-minute clip showed the masked raider silently creeping around their bedroom looking at Angie on the bed. He appeared to be fixated with her as he repeatedly shone his torch over her body. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline Angie said she could have been raped if she'd been sleeping alone. 'I looked at the camera and my blood ran cold', she said. 'The guy came into the room eight times. He was looking in between my legs, at my intimate parts, looking at my face. He forgot all about the burglary. He was more interested in looking at me.' 'I was very scared, I was shaking. I was in shock. The day before my boyfriend Alex had been in Germany. If I had been alone this man might have raped me. 'Half an hour after he left the house, I went to the toilet. Perhaps if I had seen him I would have screamed. Alex would have done something. But the intruder might have been carrying a knife or a pistol.' 'I am still traumatised by this,' she said. 'Before I go to the toilet at night, I look at the cameras. If Alex leaves the bed at night, I jump. I am now seeing a psychologist.' Instead of stealing her gold ring, €400 Philipp Plein watch or other jewellery, he only took €300 in cash from her purse and dumped it. Spanish police are analysing the security footage to identify the suspect, but no arrests have been yet made. Angie's teenage son was also sleeping in the room next door at the time. 'Marbella is a bit dangerous now with people coming into people's houses. I would advise people to put alarms in their homes,' she said. Mr Varona, a Brazilian black belt jiu-jitsu champion, said if he had woken up when the intruder was there, the outcome would have been different. 'I can detain nearly anyone. Someone came into our house and with the knowledge that I have, you can imagine how angry I felt. If I had woken up then the video that everyone has seen on social media would have been very different, I would have detained him until the authorities would have arrived, without doing him any harm.' He had returned from a jiu-jitsu tournament in Germany the day before. The couple went to the cinema and finally went to bed late deeply. 'The intruder did not steal anything from me, but perhaps he stole my pride. For me being a jiu-jitsu black belt and doing what I do, I should not have any excuse. I train about three times a day, six days a week, sometimes seven and I could not do anything with this intruder in our house,' he said. The couple did not report the burglary immediately partly out of embarrassment and because they felt that as the intruder wore a mask, gloves and socks, they doubted if he could be caught by police. Later, they found the courage to report it after being encouraged to by friends. Disturbed by the intruder's behaviour and desperate to catch him, police published the footage. The incident comes as residents in Spain have been warned to beef up their security systems after more burglaries. In more footage, a man is seen wearing a mask and a grey hoodie and breaking into a series of villas between San Pedro de Alcantara in Marbella and Benahavis. Dubbed the San Pedro Prowler, he is seen picking locks with a sharp tool. He then walked off carrying luxury items including handbags and jewellery. Among the recent stolen items include €10,000 in cash and a €30,000 watch. The robber appeared to be wearing no shoes, just in socks apparently to avoid alerting anyone inside the house. Neighbourhoods he has targeted include Guadalmina, and La Quinta, in upmarket Benahavis.
