The German union for independent flight attendants
UFO said Tuesday that sexual harassment in the industry was a
"serious problem."
"It happens to men as well, although women are harassed more
frequently," said Sylvia Gassner, who has been tasked by the union
with the issue for the past two years. "It is a serious problem, one
that is too often ignored."
There are hardly any figures on victims of sexual harassment in the
industry, although UFO published a report in May that found that one
in two crew members had been sexually harassed at their workplace.
Most instances of harassment occurred on board the plane, the survey
found. In 45 per cent of cases, the perpetrator was the flight
attendant's superior, such as a pilot.
In a quarter of cases, the
flight attendants said they were harassed by staff members of the
same rank or by passengers.
The survey was criticized for being openly accessible on UFO's
website. However, Gassner said that the survey, which had more than
1,000 respondents, was "consistent with the reports I have received
from colleagues."
Representational image