A horrifying report from BuzzFeed News is unraveling one of the darkest secrets in cruise ship industry: Sexual assaults, a quarter of which are committed by employees of travel agencies as crew members.
Note: Buzzfeed report included The direct description of the attack may be offensive to some readers. Please read at your own discretion.
The whole report makes you sick to your stomach but it’s well worth your time, especially if you or a loved one are on a cruise, but here’s the gist of the report:
In dozens of court documents As reviewed by BuzzFeed News, cruise ship passengers say they were dragged into their cabins and raped, pushed into a janitor’s locker and assaulted, and even assaulted in the ship’s public corridors. . Likewise, parents and guardians have alleged that their children were sexually abused by other passengers or crew members, drugged and, in some cases, abused by nursery staff. used at shipboard operations centers. Just two weeks ago, the parents of a 17-year-old passenger filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was raped by a fitness trainer on the Carnival cruise ship.
In fact, sexual assaults are the most commonly reported crime on cruise ships, according to the FBI. Since 2015, there have been 454 allegations of sex crimes on cruise ships reported. Experts believe the actual number is much higher, as many sexual assaults often go unreported. (For reference, more than two thirds of all sexual assaults in the United States that go unreported to law enforcement, according to the National Network for Rape, Abuse & Incest.)
And many major cruise lines have been told – even with their own security staff – that more can be done to protect passengers, such as installing more surveillance cameras and hiring more security personnel. security. But according to court filings, including the deposition from this February in a lawsuit alleging the gang rape of minors aboard Carnival Cruise, senior executives chose not to make the changes. change, deeming them too costly.
Worryingly, in many cases, the alleged assailants are crew members whose job it is to protect passengers – as of 2015, nearly a quarter of all flights The reported sexual assault on the yacht was committed by a crew member, according to BuzzFeed News analysis of FBI data.
Cruise lines have known about sexual assault for more than 20 years, but continue to do little to keep visitors safe. When a crime occurs, inexperienced security guards must gather forensic data and FBI agents are overstretched to investigate. Evidence is often lost, deleted, or mishandled. Buzzfeed further support this report with in-depth interviews, court records and crime data. You can read the whole thing This.
