April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and we definitely know that the number of sexual harassment cases are increasing instead of plummeting. While India has already been reported as the most dangerous country for women in the world by Thomson Reuters Foundation, according to a survey in Feb 2018, every third woman in India suffers from Sexual, Physical Violence at home.
In yet another case of sexual harassment, a man was beaten by 17 women onboard Delhi Dubai Flight. The flight was to land at 5:20 am , but around 4:40 am, a 25-year-old woman shouted on the flight about how the man was misbehaving with her. The woman reported that while she was asleep, the man touched her inappropriately and this woke her up. She reached out to her father, who was sleeping on the other seat. When the woman’s father went to the man, he refused that he did anything like this.The woman then started shouting in the flight and while other women came for her support, the man screamed at them and this made the other passengers hit him.
The incident happened on Thursday on the flight SG-012 from Dubai to Delhi. The woman also reported that the man identified as Sharikh Khan , hit her and abused her while she was raising the alarm. This then resulted in the mid air brawl.
Sexual Harassment On Flight Happening More Often
FBI investigations and sexual harassment reports have increased by 66 percent since 2014. According to a survey by the Assn. Of Flight Attendants, 68% of flight attendants have suffered some or the other form of sexual harassment in their career. According to CNN, FBI had reported 63 investigations on sexual assault onboard in 2017,57 in 2016 and 40 in 2015. This obviously means , that the number of sexual harassment cases on flights are increasing at an alarming rate. Moreover, this is just the cases that are reported by FBI, but there’s no other agency working towards tracking the sexual assaults on flight and hence the data is not up to the mark.
How To Remain Safe And Combat In-Flight Sexual Assault
Amidst the increasing number of sexual harassment cases, it is our duty to try our best to remain safe. After all, there’s just FBI reporting the cases and forwarding it to the relevant airline. What happens next, no one even knows!
- Fear Of Getting Caught- The Advantage You Posses, Always!
A assaulter always bears the fear of getting caught. So it’s your duty to shout and let the passengers know about the man who is trying to touch you, or harass you. Although we know that technology has introduced a bit of distraction and hence it is our duty too, to listen and pay attention to any such thing happening on our flight with someone else.
- You Can Ask To Be Relocated, If You Feel Uncomfortable
Do not wait for the assaulter to make a big move. You always can inform the airline, and be relocated without creating much of hassle in the flight.
- Safety Advice By The Authorities
The FBI says that the offenders will try to test the victim’s boundaries to see if they react in any way. For this, the agency suggests keeping the armrest down no matter however friendly the person on the other seat might appear to be!
Read More:Tollywood Constitutes Sexual Harassment Redressal Panel -Will It Work?
Anushika Srivastava is an Intern with SheThePeople.TV
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