This thread raises an excellent point for all the EK pilots to consider: the blase attitude of the security personnel to an individual's dignity and rights, and the blase attitude of our management to allow what can easily be seen as Sexual Assault to be conducted on EK crew. And yes, this DOES apply to us as pilots.
I have personally been asked twice in the past month, by cabin crew, for my advice on this situation. The first was a general question based on rumour and went along the lines of "what do I do, or what CAN I do, when instructed to submit to a cavity search?"
My response was "you are entitled to have medical representation present, and your first action is to call the duty cabin crew manager, and ask for advice and assistance in arranging that medical presence. If the duty CCM does not organise suitable medical representaion, or refuses to, or advises you that you have no right to a medical presence, then continue waking up every manager up the chain until Sheikh Ahmed tells you its ok." (I offered this advice not as a lawyer, but as a course of action that I would personally employ in such a situation)
The second question was from someone who DID receive such a search, AFTER speaking to the duty CC Manager and being told there was nothing to be done and she would have to submit to the search. The crew member was amazed by this, but was told she had no legal right to say no! The crew member submitted to the search, and contacted her CCM the next morning (this all happened in the middle of the night ofcourse) to discuss it as she was now feeling violated and wanted to take the matter further. She was told, by her CCM, that there was nothing to be done and it was routine security practice. That crew member has since resigned out of disgust for the manner of these searches.
I accept, understand and support, the security requirements associated with body searches: I'm not going down that road. My concern is about the manner in which they are conducted, and our company's lack of support for the crew members being intimidated into submitting to one WITHOUT MEDICAL REPRESENTATION.
If there is a management person reading this, perhaps you could garner comment from the EK legal department, Medical department, IFS and Flt Ops, and publish an official notice to crews about this very sensitive and personal issue?
Perhaps a question we should all consider as pilots (especially the Captains) is "what will you do/say when one of your crew ask your advice on this"?
And one for everybody to ponder....."Does this practice equate to sexual assault?"