Frisky business!
Have you walked through a domestic airport security gate and come out feeling violated after being frisked by security personnel? You are not alone. Most travellers find these groping searches demeaning. Not to mention indecent.
What do you do when someone in uniform, that too of the same sex, gropes you a bit too hard or lets his/her hands linger? Says lawyer Pinky Anand, "There's an ongoing ethical conundrum regarding body scanners and pat-downs around the world. But we are yet to have an answer to the dilemma privacy over security?"
The fact that abroad, pat-downs are used on passengers who opt out of a full-body scanner, as well as those that set off walkthrough metal detectors or are selected for a random search (read Asian or mid-eastern). In India, the invasive searches are more of a rule than an exception. More often than not, the metal detector sits on the counter, while the security staff freely run their hands all over the passengers. When questioned, the answer is, "It is not charged, so I can't use it."
P Mohanan, former aviation security auditor, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) , explains, "The National Civil Aviation Security Program says screening of passengers can be carried out through metal detectors, explosive detectors, manual search, or by a combination of these. The fact that abroad they still resort to pat-down searches on suspicious looking passengers state that they are more confident of such searches as opposed to metal detectors, which have their limitations."
Pat-down rules!
The world and security have never been the same after the World Trade Center bombings in the US. The Texas House has passed a Bill that will make it a criminal offence for public servants to inappropriately touch travellers during airport security pat-downs. The measure makes it illegal for anyone conducting searches to touch the anus, sexual organs, buttocks, or breast of another person, including through clothing. It al! so prohi bits searches that would be offensive to a reasonable person. This has to do with dignity. "Unfortunately," says P Mohanan, "these rules are not applicable in India."
Raise your voice
In 2010, The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the US changed the way it manually searched passengers. The manual search now involves a slide of the hand compared to the traditional pat-down. TSA agents are not only allowed to use the front of their hands in searches, the new process also includes an agent running his or her hand up the inside of a passenger's leg.
While one understands that more stringent procedures are needed to combat the growing terrorist threats, are body searches the answer? Is it a necessary evil or violation of rights? Says lawyer Kamini Jaiswal, "The government tends to take extraordinary liberties in the name of security and people do not dare to speak up because one word of suspicion could ruin their lives. Women and young girls, particularly, quietly suffer the humiliation."
Frisking has ignited outrage from many travellers, who have taken to the Internet to protest. 'Do Not Touch My Junk' is probably one of the most famous campaigns on YouTube.
Why isn't there a wider public outcry in India, where this invasive treatment is reserved for the masses, while celebrities and politicians walk through without the searches? Jaiswal adds, "People do not complain as legal redressal is a slow and painful process. An ineffective and incompetent NHRC doesn't do much either."
Pesky practice
In the US, an officer of the same sex explains the procedure before and during the pat-down. The suspected passenger has the right to be in a private room and have someone of his or her own choice to witness the pat-down. Unfortunately, in India, most rules are flouted, as nonfunctional scanners are commonplace and pat-downs are the standard practice!
Around 450 airports in the US alone are fitted with evolved full-body image scann! ers. The machine creates a computerised image of a person's body and gives screeners the ability to check for weapons. Is India at par? P Mohanan remarks, "Full-body scanners are not yet in place. The Delhi airport, perhaps, has started using it on an experimental basis."
The law is yours too!
Stop that chalta hai attitude. Except for the weirdos of this world and that guy with the 'Axe' effect who lets the horny security babe all over him, rest of us are not at all comfortable with an unreasonable pat-down of our private parts.
A recent Ipsos/Reuters survey reveals that despite fear of more attacks, 53 per cent of Indians think airport security checks are too invasive. Nearly 85 per cent of air passengers say the measures are warranted but a hassle, although 40 per cent of travellers say the measures will not catch anyone determined to cause them harm.
For people with pacemakers and those in wheelchairs, life can be miserable at airports. "Because I am fitted with a pacemaker, a thorough pat-down is a must for me every time I travel. I feel needlessly harassed," says businessman Debdeep Pattnaik.
Though many frequent travellers feel these searches are a small price to pay, there are some who bear the brunt of the strict rules. Fashion model Aparupa Das had to bear the humiliation of a pair of hands searching her breasts because she had an underwire bra on!
Learn what rights are violated during a body search and what recourse you have. Rohit Katiyar, spokesperson for Central Industrial Security Force, defending a patdown, explains that the practice is favoured and accepted the world over but adds, "Legally, one can ask for a supervisor to be present. If the touch is improper or if one is uncomfortable with the personnel, a replacement can be asked for. Rudeness, obscenity, abusive language or behaviour, roughness and vulgarity can be objected to. But one can hardly object to frisking of private parts. It may be humiliating, but then private parts have bee! n used f or hiding weapons, contraband and bombs!"
Celeb's nightmare
Only recently, a very upset former Miss USA Susie Castillo complained that a security agent touched her "vagina" four times during a pat-down at the Dallas airport. So has Kim Kardashian, who felt that her buttocks were unnecessarily groped. Item girl Koena Mitra told a daily, "Three girls in uniform, clearly in a mood to bully me since I am a celebrity, called me to the frisking room. Even when they were frisking me, they were feeling me very hard right from my shoulders to the back pockets. Suddenly, one of them held my fringes and asked me if my hair was real."
"I am sure some people get their jollies by touching actors!" replied actor Jackky Bhagnani to a tweet by a senior journalist who posted her angst of getting frisked at the Delhi airport. She tweeted, "Delhi's T3 terminal can be compared to the best in the world. But the security women continue to feel up female passengers. Feels like rape."
The real picture
In the last few years, the patdowns have gotten more personal. And it is not just at airports. Have you tried going to watch an IPL match?
Should there be a stop to obsessive frisking? Says lawyer Anand, "Speak up when a touch is improper. Your complaint can be verified by the CCTV cameras." Otherwise, just bear with it. It's all done to get you home safe!
Ready to be searched?
"Not if I could avoid it. I mean, who would?" - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on whether she would submit to the searches
"I don't go through security checks to get on planes these days, so I haven't personally experienced some of the procedures." - US President Barack Obama on the stepped-up screening.
What do you do when someone in uniform, that too of the same sex, gropes you a bit too hard or lets his/her hands linger? Says lawyer Pinky Anand, "There's an ongoing ethical conundrum regarding body scanners and pat-downs around the world. But we are yet to have an answer to the dilemma privacy over security?"
The fact that abroad, pat-downs are used on passengers who opt out of a full-body scanner, as well as those that set off walkthrough metal detectors or are selected for a random search (read Asian or mid-eastern). In India, the invasive searches are more of a rule than an exception. More often than not, the metal detector sits on the counter, while the security staff freely run their hands all over the passengers. When questioned, the answer is, "It is not charged, so I can't use it."
P Mohanan, former aviation security auditor, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) , explains, "The National Civil Aviation Security Program says screening of passengers can be carried out through metal detectors, explosive detectors, manual search, or by a combination of these. The fact that abroad they still resort to pat-down searches on suspicious looking passengers state that they are more confident of such searches as opposed to metal detectors, which have their limitations."
Pat-down rules!
The world and security have never been the same after the World Trade Center bombings in the US. The Texas House has passed a Bill that will make it a criminal offence for public servants to inappropriately touch travellers during airport security pat-downs. The measure makes it illegal for anyone conducting searches to touch the anus, sexual organs, buttocks, or breast of another person, including through clothing. It al! so prohi bits searches that would be offensive to a reasonable person. This has to do with dignity. "Unfortunately," says P Mohanan, "these rules are not applicable in India."
Raise your voice
In 2010, The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the US changed the way it manually searched passengers. The manual search now involves a slide of the hand compared to the traditional pat-down. TSA agents are not only allowed to use the front of their hands in searches, the new process also includes an agent running his or her hand up the inside of a passenger's leg.
While one understands that more stringent procedures are needed to combat the growing terrorist threats, are body searches the answer? Is it a necessary evil or violation of rights? Says lawyer Kamini Jaiswal, "The government tends to take extraordinary liberties in the name of security and people do not dare to speak up because one word of suspicion could ruin their lives. Women and young girls, particularly, quietly suffer the humiliation."
Frisking has ignited outrage from many travellers, who have taken to the Internet to protest. 'Do Not Touch My Junk' is probably one of the most famous campaigns on YouTube.
Why isn't there a wider public outcry in India, where this invasive treatment is reserved for the masses, while celebrities and politicians walk through without the searches? Jaiswal adds, "People do not complain as legal redressal is a slow and painful process. An ineffective and incompetent NHRC doesn't do much either."
Pesky practice
In the US, an officer of the same sex explains the procedure before and during the pat-down. The suspected passenger has the right to be in a private room and have someone of his or her own choice to witness the pat-down. Unfortunately, in India, most rules are flouted, as nonfunctional scanners are commonplace and pat-downs are the standard practice!
Around 450 airports in the US alone are fitted with evolved full-body image scann! ers. The machine creates a computerised image of a person's body and gives screeners the ability to check for weapons. Is India at par? P Mohanan remarks, "Full-body scanners are not yet in place. The Delhi airport, perhaps, has started using it on an experimental basis."
The law is yours too!
Stop that chalta hai attitude. Except for the weirdos of this world and that guy with the 'Axe' effect who lets the horny security babe all over him, rest of us are not at all comfortable with an unreasonable pat-down of our private parts.
A recent Ipsos/Reuters survey reveals that despite fear of more attacks, 53 per cent of Indians think airport security checks are too invasive. Nearly 85 per cent of air passengers say the measures are warranted but a hassle, although 40 per cent of travellers say the measures will not catch anyone determined to cause them harm.
For people with pacemakers and those in wheelchairs, life can be miserable at airports. "Because I am fitted with a pacemaker, a thorough pat-down is a must for me every time I travel. I feel needlessly harassed," says businessman Debdeep Pattnaik.
Though many frequent travellers feel these searches are a small price to pay, there are some who bear the brunt of the strict rules. Fashion model Aparupa Das had to bear the humiliation of a pair of hands searching her breasts because she had an underwire bra on!
Learn what rights are violated during a body search and what recourse you have. Rohit Katiyar, spokesperson for Central Industrial Security Force, defending a patdown, explains that the practice is favoured and accepted the world over but adds, "Legally, one can ask for a supervisor to be present. If the touch is improper or if one is uncomfortable with the personnel, a replacement can be asked for. Rudeness, obscenity, abusive language or behaviour, roughness and vulgarity can be objected to. But one can hardly object to frisking of private parts. It may be humiliating, but then private parts have bee! n used f or hiding weapons, contraband and bombs!"
Celeb's nightmare
Only recently, a very upset former Miss USA Susie Castillo complained that a security agent touched her "vagina" four times during a pat-down at the Dallas airport. So has Kim Kardashian, who felt that her buttocks were unnecessarily groped. Item girl Koena Mitra told a daily, "Three girls in uniform, clearly in a mood to bully me since I am a celebrity, called me to the frisking room. Even when they were frisking me, they were feeling me very hard right from my shoulders to the back pockets. Suddenly, one of them held my fringes and asked me if my hair was real."
"I am sure some people get their jollies by touching actors!" replied actor Jackky Bhagnani to a tweet by a senior journalist who posted her angst of getting frisked at the Delhi airport. She tweeted, "Delhi's T3 terminal can be compared to the best in the world. But the security women continue to feel up female passengers. Feels like rape."
The real picture
In the last few years, the patdowns have gotten more personal. And it is not just at airports. Have you tried going to watch an IPL match?
Should there be a stop to obsessive frisking? Says lawyer Anand, "Speak up when a touch is improper. Your complaint can be verified by the CCTV cameras." Otherwise, just bear with it. It's all done to get you home safe!
Ready to be searched?
"Not if I could avoid it. I mean, who would?" - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on whether she would submit to the searches
"I don't go through security checks to get on planes these days, so I haven't personally experienced some of the procedures." - US President Barack Obama on the stepped-up screening.
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