This seems to happen more and more often. I usually find that I would do exactly what most of these women did: get out of the seat, notify flight attendant, get moved to another seat. Apparently the airlines are just fine with this reaction, and will happily assign a new seat and then hush up and forget about the incident. This is unacceptable. Should I ever find myself in this situation, I hope I can think straight enough to scream for help on top my lungs, so the whole plane will know about the assault and the airlines will have to have police meet the plane upon arrival. Another thought: Does one have to be reasonable when practicing self defense? I was once grabbed on both breasts from behind by a drunk guy at a party, without really thinking, I turned halfway and planted my elbow in his face. Since he was intoxicated, he stumbled backwards and knocked over a drink table as he fell over it. Everyone cheered, cause it wasn't his first rodeo, just his first forceful rejection. He hurt his back (not my intention, but also not sorry), and couldn't work for a few days. At what point can airline employees get physically involved? Subdue someone? Tape/zip tie someone to a seat?
It seems like it's up to the victims to escalate the situation, so Delta can't deny it happened...