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TSA Urged to Improve Screening Process for Transgender Passengers

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) arm patch and shield is seen at Los Angeles International Airport, California February 20, 2014. U.S. authorities issued a warning on Wednesday to airlines flying to the United States to watch out for militants who may have hidden bombs in their shoes, U.S. government sources said. iREUTERS/Kevork Djansezian (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY TRANSPORT) - RTX197YF

The TSA has made a concerted effort to improve its screening procedures for transgender travelers over the last few years. However, a 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality has revealed that many transgender passengers continue to have negative screening experiences.

While the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made a concerted effort to improve its screening experience for transgender passengers over the last few years, a 2015 survey of those within this demographic indicates that there is still room for improvement, USA Today reports.

The results of the survey, conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, were revealed before a congressional panel earlier this week. The findings indicate that, out of 28,000 transgender adults, 53 per cent had flown in 2014. Out of this number, 43 percent said that they had had a negative screening experience. This, the outlet explains, includes instances such as “being patted down by an officer of the wrong gender or being loudly questioned about their body parts at a checkpoint.”

Speaking to the House Homeland Security subcommittee on transportation security, Harper Jean Tobin, the center’s policy director, conceded that while knowledge of transgender issues has improved among TSA staff, the administration should look to move beyond conventional screening methods. Tobin said that some transgender travelers had “reported leaving the checkpoint in tears, while others fear that being outed to other travelers in the screening process could make them a target for other violence.”

In the face of the experiences of these passengers, Tobin added, “We urge the agency to think about more than making tweaks. As long as TSA relies on body-scanner units and intimate pat-downs as primary passenger screening tools, we believe there will be a cost to travelers’ privacy, dignity and liberty, and questions about whether that cost is paying off in real security benefits.”

Christine Griggs, the administration’s acting assistant administrator for civil rights, said that the TSA is considering deploying equipment that would put an end to the use of gender-specific screening. While she couldn’t give a timeline for how soon this kind of technology could be deployed, Griggs said that, “we continue to work to bring that forward as quickly as we can.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]

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6 Comments
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flitcraft March 3, 2018

I think you'd be truly surprised about how often this issue comes up in airport screening. Take my home airport, Seatac, which is not anywhere close to the busiest airport. About 50 million passengers came through Seatac last year. The CDC's 2016 estimate of how many adults are transgender estimated 1.4 million. Still think it would takes years for someone transgender to go through a checkpoint? I agree with the idea that intrusive patdowns and body scanning isn't needed to keep us safe. And I would guess that, as awful as I find these procedures, they must be much worse if the TSA insists on patdowns by the wrong gendered officer. This issue doesn't affect me personally, just like colostomy bag searches by the TSA don't affect me personally, but I care about them because people shouldn't have to suffer humiliation just to fly.

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Kannai March 2, 2018

Because trans folks are people, people who, if you made a genuine effort to understand the kinds of daily harassment many of them suffer, you would know undergo a lot more mistreatment than pretty much anyone else. FWIW, this is perhaps the second or third article on trans passengers on Flyertalk I recall seeing in the last two years or so. Even if I've missed a couple, I''m guessing they're getting attention in far less than 1.1% of the articles and posts on here. The reason trans folks have been in the media in general a lot lately is because conservative lawmakers and activists keep attacking them, attempting to take away their right to simply use the restroom in peace.

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JackE March 2, 2018

Enough is enough.

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Himeno March 2, 2018

28000 isn't the total number of transgender adults in the US. It is the amount of people who took part in the survey.

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strickerj March 2, 2018

28,000 transgender adults out of an adult population of 245 million is roughly 0.011% (1.1 hundredths of a percent) - and only half of those flew last year. I’d agree with the previous poster that this issue seems to be getting an inordinate amount of attention in the media for how few people it affects. Besides, it’s not like they’re the only ones that have negative experiences with the TSA.