Yuck! A man repeatedly touched a 13 year old girl who was an unaccompanied minor. Despite there being empty seats he insisted on sitting in the middle seat next to her. No one wants that middle seat and the aisle seat was open. Red flag!
Unaccompanied minors who are paying extra for this service should be seated somewhere near the cabin’s service area so the flight attendants can keep a better eye out.
I hate to say it, when it came to my kids flying alone, I pretty much assumed there were child molesters around them. Thankfully the flight out to the grandparents house just had one seat on one side and two on the other. I remember telling the woman at the check in counter…let’s not even chance whether are not any weirdos are on board and just let her sit alone.
Thanks for posting as my 13 yr old niece will be flying cross country alone for the first time.
I traveled unaccompanied several times as a young teen… never had any issues. But it’s a good reminder that young people need to be empowered and encouraged to reach out to adults when something is wrong.
I used to tell my girls that if they felt uncomfortable by someone’s touch, doesn’t matter who, then they should let someone know. I never defined what kind of contact it maybe, but more about "uncomfortable feeling. We all have an internal antenna on what’s appropriate and what’s not, even for very young children.
When we were separated on a flight once, my then 12 yr D was sitting alone and the stewardess made sure to seat her next to two ladies.
If you don’t pay for Unaccompanied Minor Service (most airlines don’t require it for children 15 and older), the kid gets assigned whatever seat is available, just as any adult passenger would.
We paid for the service when my son was 15, I think. He was a big, confident kid. The flight attendant looked at him and jokingly said, “I’m supposed to babysit YOU??” She still brought him milk and cookies, though. 
I guess I was lucky. It never occurred to me that my kids would be at risk traveling alone. I guess it was because I did it at a pretty young age myself. I’m glad nothing ever happened!
I realize the girl was uncomfortable and terrified and I really hate to criticize her, but this is an example of how girls and women need to be proactive and speak up. She was not alone in an elevator or bathroom, but on a plane surrounded by other people.
There is a call button above every seat. If she had pressed the button the flight attendant would have come immediately. She could have communicated with the people sitting in front of her or behind her. The good thing about the scenario as it happened is that a third party witnessed the abuse and the perpetrator was caught.
I’ve heard stories of women on subways saying in a loud voice, “will the person who is fondling me stop right now.” We need more of this. The message I would relay to my unaccompanied minor is to ring that call button and speak up.
My kids since age 15 have each been traveling internationally alone to their boarding schools (different schools)
involving changing planes in a foreign country, without Unaccompanied Minor Service. We’ve just coached them about being wary of creepy child molesters.
My kids never flew unaccompanied until they were at summer-camp age (and then they were part of a supervised group), but I have to say, this kind of thing never would have entered my mind.
I flew unaccompanied as a kid regularly and my kids have too. Never had this happen. On a recent flight I overheard an attendant say that they set aside front seats for kids - when I was little I seemed to always get a bulkhead seat. So maybe many airlines do put them where they can watch them.
I have 4 daughters–3 still minors. 2 were/are flying without family members this week. Ugh. I also worry about my young adult daughter who frequently travels alone. (She is tough, and I doubt she would put up with anything. . .but she is also very attractive, so men are all too happy to sit next to her.) I am surprised that this girl didn’t speak up, call the flight attendant, yell, scream, ask for help from others around her–something! I hope my D’s would not keep quiet if they were ever in this type of situation. I plan to talk to them about this, and remind them that speaking up/calling for help is the right thing to do.
No one would ever have thought I wouldn’t speak up. And yet once as a teen and once as an adult I was in situations where I should have yelled, complained, whatever. And I didn’t, in the moment. I did follow-up after, but at the time the events were happening I went into some kind of shock or disbelief mode. I’d like to think I’d handle it differently now, but who knows?
I think a lot of times girls wonder, “Am I over reacting? Am I being over sensitive? Is this really normal and I am just being weird?” That’s why I always told my kids when they felt weird about any interaction then they should speak up. I never talked to them about only tell me (adult) if someone touched you inside your thigh, touched your breast/butt/face…etc. It was always about tell me as soon as possible if someone made you feel uncomfortable. Sometimes someone would make one feel uncomfortable, not necessary by touch, but just the way they looked at you. Kids should be taught to trust their instincts.
I guess there are bigger threats to a child’s safety than the transgendered person using the bathroom.
I completely believe that girls, especially that preteen age, can feel uncomfortable and be embarrassed to speak up or not know what to do at the time, or worry that they’re over reacting. Especially if they’re alone. I tried to always tell my d the same thing oldfort did. Not to be some oprah fanatic, but she did quite a few shows on wanting to empower women to be aware of that feeling inside when something doesn’t seem right. I also drilled into my kids, no adult should ever need your help with anything nor should an adult ever tell them something between them was a secret. (it’s a wonder my kids aren’t deranged with all my warnings)
I had the same experience. It was really weird. I think “disbelief mode” describes it well. I could easily see it happening with a child.
I’ve mentioned this book on other threads , but I highly recommend “Protecting The Gift” by Gavin DeBecker , a social anthropologist , who writes about how humans are the only mammals who are trained to disregard their instincts . He said females especially disregard that little voice for fear of being rude . It’s a very good book with some strategies for identifying risk. It’s helped me be more astute.