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Home » Consumer Information » Cruise Ship Safety

Cruise Ship Sexual Assault

Although there are laws in place protecting victims of sexual assault and rape on cruise ships, police endeavors to enforce them have essentially been nonexistent. The only method this leaves to obtain any justice is pursuing a civil suit for damages incurred.

Research revealed that over a span of four years, out of 174 reports of sexual assault or rape on one of the most renowned cruise lines, not one person has been convicted of a crime. This could be due to the fact that this cruise line makes a concerted effort to conceal any evidence that horrific events like these are even happening on their ships. According to this particular corporation's Risk Management Manual:

  1. As all accidents or illnesses may result in litigation, the Risk Management Department should be promptly notified in the event of an accident or incident, to jointly review and analyze the information received from the ship's initial investigation, to determine the steps necessary to further investigate and defend any claims arising out of the accident/incident including immediate contact and retention of defense counsel.
  2. As required, make arrangements to transport defense counsel investigators to next port of call.

What to do if a sexual assault has occurred
The crime scene must not be tampered with so that all evidence is preserved. The following steps should be taken:

  • The scene should be closed off from intruders until police get there.
  • Photographs should be taken from all angles of the scene.
  • No one should be allowed access to the scene other than officials capable of collecting evidence without ruining it.
  • Anyone inside the scene should be wearing gloves and booties.
  • Any eyewitnesses should be detained until their accounts of the event have been recorded and names, addresses, and telephone numbers have been obtained.
  • The victim of the sex crime should not eat, drink, shower, bathe, brush their teeth, or go to the bathroom until a doctor conducts a rape test.
  • Blood samples should be collected from the victim as soon as possible.
  • Pictures of the victim should be taken to showcase the extent of harm (e.g., cuts, bruises, black eyes, swelling).
  • Only qualified individuals should interact with the victim.
  • Mug shots of the entire staff and passengers should be shown to the victim to identify the assailant.

You cannot depend on the cruise line to take action and abide by the above rules. Friends and family of the victim should take matters into their own hands and call the FBI by satellite phone to find out where to take it from there. Leaving it up to the cruise line will probably not get you very far. Aside from contacting the FBI, you should also get in touch with a lawyer who specializes in cruise ship sexual assault cases immediately.

Stunning statistics

There have been some shocking revelations stemming from the investigation of various cruise ship rape cases.

  • One leading cruise line averages two reports of sexual assault or rape for every 100,000 passengers. That's like saying two people in a packed football stadium will be raped.
  • Another major cruise line documented 99 sexual assaults or rapes during a five-year window.
  • A different company reported 173 sexual assaults or rapes over a five-year span.
  • Another large brand gets approximately two reports of sexual assault or rape every month on each ship in its fleet.
  • One cruise line employs a risk management team focused on sexual assault and rape claim investigations. It is confusing why a risk management team is assigned this task as opposed to the security department.