Life at Sea Cruises/Photo: Official website, YouTube
Complaints of sexual assault on cruise ships have nearly doubled in five years in the US, with 131 sexual assaults reported on ships in 2023, according to FBI data.
Shockingly, about 79 of those complaints were about rape. The popularity of cruises and the easy availability of alcohol On board are the factors that have contributed to the rise in sex crime at sea. "It's known that cruise ships are a good place for 'sexual predators' to get away from bad things," veteran Miami maritime attorney Mike Winkelman told the New York Post. "There's a sense that when you're on a cruise ship, you have There is a better chance of escaping bad deeds at sea than on land."
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of sexual harassment at sea burst into the spotlight last week after a couple from Kentucky claimed they were drugged and sexually assaulted while on a cruise vacation in the Bahamas. The waiters added Sam Force to their drinks as they disembarked.
Police in the Bahamas are handling this case.
A spokesman for the resort in the Bahamas, said that the security footage from today does not match the women's report of what happened.
The investigation is still ongoing.
The two women also added that the "Carnival" shipping company they were traveling with did not warn them that there was a travel warning issued by the US State Department for the Bahamas, only after the ordeal they went through.
According to them, the wait staff added rape to their drink when they got off the ship.
Dobson and Shearer/Screenshot, Instagram
Alcohol - the factor involved in most cases
All cruise lines operating cruises to and from US ports are required to submit to the FBI serious incident reports of assaults, suspicious deaths, missing persons, theft of property valued at more than $10,000, and sex-related crimes occurring on The deck.
It's unclear how many of the cases reported to the bureau in 2023 led to arrests, but the number marks a sharp increase from the 77 sexual assaults reported in 2018, when rape was not reported separately from other sexual assaults in the previous data collected.
In more than a dozen claims reviewed by the Post that were submitted to the House Federal trial in Miami last year, alcohol was a major factor in almost every case. All-inclusive alcohol packages offered to passengers on board are very tempting and cost a total of $60 per day. Another maritime attorney, Jack Hickey, said: " The cruise lines derive a large percentage of their revenue from the sale of beverages, from beverage packages. They do it in a very liberal way."
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All-inclusive packages of alcohol are tempting to purchase.
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Many attacks were carried out by staff members
The cases describe a variety of sexual assaults, most of which were allegedly committed by staff members.
The crimes took place in areas such as DJ booths, as well as secret employee areas out of sight of surveillance cameras.
Several cases describe women who were given drinks by employees and suddenly began to sway on the verge of losing consciousness.
Other cases included offenses against minors.
In one ongoing case, a crew member approached a girl in the fitness area of a Carnival ship last March and offered free stretching services.
She accompanied the man to a private area where he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
The girl's cousins became concerned when she didn't return to the gym, and eventually found her being sexually assaulted by an employee, according to court documents.
"What the hell are you doing to my cousin?"
One of them screamed at the employee, who denied doing anything.
In a case filed last month, a woman claimed a Celebrity cruise ship worker offered her a drink when she returned to sit at the bar from the bathroom.
She "drank the beverage that caused her to feel physically incoordinated and severely impaired in motor skills," according to the complaint.
"She also felt as if she had been sedated."
The crew member then led her up several decks to a room and raped her, the lawsuit alleges.
In a case filed against Royal Caribbean, a woman claims she was given a drink by an employee during an April 2022 cruise, stood out and raped.
The lawsuit states that she later tested positive for fentanyl (an opioid considered a dangerous drug) after returning home from the trip.
A Cruise employee was caught red-handed filming in the women's bathroom
@sajalapeno This man was in the women's restroom located at the kids club.
Please don't leave your children unattended on any vacation & be aware of your surroundings at all times.
#cruise #cruiseshipcrew ♬ original sound - Saja ??
Danger also in areas intended for teenagers
Women who are among the victims of sexual assault on the cruise report that they were with their husbands and children during the vacation, which made their trauma worse.
In a lawsuit still pending in court, a woman claimed she was with her friend at the bar of the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship in February 2022. Her husband and other friends on their cruise were elsewhere on the ship.
After the bar had almost closed, the two women asked for one last drink.
The bartender told one of the women to follow him to a private area where he would provide her with another drink.
He then took over her and forced her to perform oral sex on him, according to court documents.
Her partner frantically searched the area for her and ended up attacking the bartender, according to the lawsuit.
According to the New York Post, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and MSC have not responded to the aforementioned events.
Maritime lawyer Hickey claims that the cruise lines are fiercely defending their reputations, and are facing lawsuits filed against them. The lawyer also emphasized the risks viewed in parts of ships designed for teenagers, including dance areas. For example, in a still-pending lawsuit filed by the parents of a girl, it is alleged that she was sexually assaulted in a bathroom by another passenger in the bathroom attached to the disco.
However, Sally Andrews of the International Sailing Association, claims that cruise passengers are in less danger on ships than on shore. "Cruise ships are one of the safest vacation options in the world, with serious crime rates that are much lower than those on land, due to multiple security circles and the nature of cruising," she said.
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