Cabin crew open up about widespread sexual harassment in the industry

A shocking new survey has revealed 65 per cent of cabin crew members have experienced sexual harassment on the job.

And while cabin crew often have to deal with some pretty rude or annoying passengers, facing sexual harassment from either a passenger or colleague is unacceptable and has prompted a new awareness campaign using the hashtag #CabinCrewToo, off the back of #MeToo.

A total of 419 cabin crew members working for Australian airlines Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar and Tigerair, took part in the survey by the Transport Workers Union, reports the ABC.

The survey also revealed that one in five crew members have reported more than 10 incidents of sexual harassment in their careers so far, with four out of five reporting sexual harassment from co-workers, while three out of five experienced it from passengers.

Incidents reported range from serious sexual assault, to groping, passengers exposing themselves, sexualised comments, and workers being abused because of their sexual orientation.

However the most shocking is that a huge 69 per cent of those who said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment while at work did not report the incident because they were not comfortable doing so for fear of the repercussions.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Australia, which owns Tigerair, said the company was “concerned by the results of this survey”.

“The safety and wellbeing of our team members is our number one priority. We have a zero tolerance of inappropriate behaviour,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hannah Rowlands, a former Qantas cabin crew member, left her job after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by her cabin manager in mid-2015.

The 27-year-old said she was not surprised by this result.

“Really, this is the perfect place – there’s nowhere they can hide from you,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The issue of sexual harassment and indecent incidents on planes is sadly one that is seen internationally. Just last month a woman claimed she was paid ‘hush money’ by an American airline after a disturbing incident on board.

A woman claims a man masturbated next to her on a United Airlines flight in September, and the airline paid her $75USD in “hush money” after she complained.

Mikaela Dixon, 21, explained that she “sat there shaking” until the man stopped to use the restroom as the plane was landing. She reported the incident to the crew, but the man, realising that he had been caught, “bolted” off the plane after landing. He was then detained by United’s security crew and later released.

This new survey, which was completed between August and September, represents about five per cent of the roughly 8000 cabin crew who work in the industry in Australia.

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