Photo: PR Newswire
By Our Reporter & News Agencies
United Airlines is training flight attendants to intervene when passengers watch pornography on their personal devices as part of an effort to curb the increase of porn viewing on airplanes.
American non-profit organization National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) says that United Airlines last month began providing new training to its flight crew on topics of pornography and sexual harassment.
“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority. Sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior, intimidation or predation have absolutely no place anywhere in our society — including, and especially, in our industry and on our aircraft,” a United Airlines statement shared with NCOSE reads.
“In 2018, we strengthened our training for flight attendants to recognize, address and respond to instances of sexual harassment of any kind onboard our aircraft and will continue to adapt and enhance this training moving forward.”
In 2019, NCOSE had listed United Airlines on its “Dirty Dozen List” of “mainstream” companies and entities considered to be “facilitators of sexual exploitation in society and culture.”
Among NCOSE’s concerns was that United Airlines employees were ill-prepared to “address the growing problem of viewing pornography on airplanes.”
NCOSE called United out for instances in which employees failed to intervene when men satisfied themselves while watching pornography in close proximity to others onboard.
United’s statement shared with NCOSE declared that United Airlines recognizes the need to “ensure that our policies reflect our values and safeguard those traveling with us.”
NCOSE Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach Haley Halverson said that in recent years, the number of passengers who watch pornography on their personal devices while on airplanes has increased dramatically.
Because United Airlines has updated its training, NCOSE said it will remove United from its Dirty Dozen List.
“Many airlines have policies on paper that prohibit such content, but they are not adequately training their in-flight crews or support staff to ensure they are consciously aware the policy exists or know how to enforce it,” Halverson said in a statement.
Additional Reporting by The Christian Post.
