Cruise Ship Sexual Assault Most Commonly Reported Cruise Ship Crime

Last summer a woman filed suit against a cruise line, claiming that one of the company’s employees sexually assaulted her. 

The Miami New Times reports that the alleged incident occurred one year earlier, in August 2017, as the victim sailed with Celebrity Cruises. The report quotes the woman’s court filing, saying that she alleges the man “trapped her in a small room of the spa” and “intentionally persuaded [her] to undress and eventually fondled her breasts and vaginal area before she was able to get away.”

Many cruise aficionados would be surprised to learn that sexual assault is the most commonly reported crime aboard cruise ships, with more of these crimes reported every year than even petty thefts or other kinds of assaults. 

Cruise companies have a duty to provide safe travel environments for their passengers, and are especially responsible to ensure that their employees do not mistreat passengers. But the statistics show that at least half of cruise ship sexual assaults and rapes are committed by crew members.