A lady very dear to my heart was subjected to nothing short of an indecent assault at Manchester T3 security last year. I work in the industry and know the difference. I made an official complaint and an enquiry was held, interestingly enough, without obtaining a statement of any kind from the victim. The outcome was predictable and the apology tendered was along the lines of "we are sorry that the required search caused distress".
I made a full report to the head of TranSec but never received the courtesy of a reply, but maybe a few waves were generated. Things do seem to have changed for the better at Manchester T3 and subsequent searches have been professional and of a decent nature.
Females wearing trousers are actually given the same search as a male. The criteria being to detect a butterfly knife strapped to the inner thigh. So all a female terrorist has to do is wear a skirt, or a male a kilt. Might be a bit a giveaway if your name is Bin Laden though!
So why do we live in the Dark Ages in the UK and still have hand searches? Why not use metal detector wands, they are good enough for the "land of the free" and they would spot the above?
I would suggest anyone male or female experiencing an inappropriate search to complain there and then to the supervisor and make an official complaint. If they refuse to listen, call the police. An indecent assault cannot be justified by the need for security surely. Maybe Diana Ross was right?
ATB,
ptc