As sexual misconduct claims upend Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, providing fresh fuel to the #MeToo movement, Congress wants to evaluate how airlines handle claims of sex-related impropriety during flights.
Passenger-on-passenger harassment is often not reported to the FBI, the agency that oversees such cases. While one in five flight attendants say they have been informed of sexual assaults, law enforcement was notified less than half of the time, according to a 2017 survey from the Association of Flight Attendants.
Under the standard process, flight attendants report any allegations of sexual misconduct to the cabin manager, who then informs the flight deck. The pilot makes the final determination of whether to involve law enforcement. Several alleged incidents were described in a report earlier this year by BuzzFeed News.
Lawmakers are trying to improve that procedure in updated legislation to fund the Federal Aviation Administration. Unveiled on Friday evening, it would create a new task force to review the current system and make recommendations on training flight crews to address on-board incidents.
The Department of Transportation would then have to issue a plan to implement the proposals. The bill would allow the agency to draft regulations forcing airlines to develop their own policies to address sexual misconduct on flights. Within the next two years, the U.S. Attorney General would also be required to develop a new reporting system for victims .
“The FAA bill task-force provision ensures this process will move forward to determine the best reporting process, training for aviation workers based on stakeholder input for the most thoughtful approach, and the resources and tools for frontline workers and law enforcement to respond,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said in a statement.
The House of Representatives is slated to vote on the FAA re-authorization bill this week.
The congressional attention to harassment on flights comes amid a broader public focus on sexual misconduct in the workplace. The #MeToo movement has cost business people including film producer Harvey Weinstein and CBS anchor Charlie Rose their positions, along with elected officials such as former-Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota.
Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination was dealt a damaging blow this month when a former high school classmate alleged that he and a friend sexually assaulted her at a party in 1982.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hear from Kavanaugh, who has denied the claim, and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, on Thursday. A second woman detailed allegations of sexual misconduct to the New Yorker on Sunday, an account that was questioned by top Republicans.
