What would you do if a TSA agent decided to give your six year old child a full body pat down, including “sensitive areas” and a hand in their waistband? The Drexel family recorded the procedure when a TSA agent at Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans patted down their six year old, Anna, and posted it on YouTube so that the world could share in their outrage.
The family went through the full body scanners, then Anna was selected for a pat down. The agents would not tell her mother why.
Drexel told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday that Anna began to cry after the search and said, “I’m sorry mommy. I don’t know what I did wrong.”
TSA screeners are supposed to be trained to use a “modified” pat down for children 12 and younger, according to the agency’s website. And at least one government official interviews by The AP claims that TSA policy is meant to exclude patting down children. Drexel points out that the pat down her daughter received didn’t seem particularly modified, and sends a dangerous message to small children who parents work hard to educate on personal space and setting boundaries for where and how strangers are allowed to touch them.
“To say it’s OK for this group to do it but not OK for this other group, many children are going to have a very difficult time differentiating between who is OK and who is not,” she told The AP. “And I believe that this particular pat-down process sets children up to be vulnerable.”
Not to mention the part where a full body scan of a little girl wearing leggings and a t-shirt seems like more than enough security for anyone. Not only is the kid somewhere in the neighborhood of four feet tall, she has nowhere to hide anything. She doesn’t even look like she has pockets.
Martin Macpherson, the director of the London-based Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, has told The AP that he is not aware of any instances in which terrorists have used children this young for an attack.
In a statement, the TSA said the officer followed proper procedure but that the agency is reviewing its screening policies for “low-risk populations, such as young passengers.” The agency says it is exploring ways to “move beyond a one-size fits all system” and suggests that parents warn children that they may be patted down at the airport.
If you don’t find that particularly reassuring either, you’re not alone. The Drexel’s have already decided that they next time they need to travel, they’re going to drive.
