Rape victims' advocates say the star's comment that TSA procedure made her feel like being raped in public is insensitive and she 'is not educated enough on this subject.'
- Dec 8, 2010
AceShowbiz - Khloe Kardashian's decision to sound off her thoughts on airport security checks has sparked a controversy. A moment after she said, "Well, they basically are just raping you in public," about the TSA procedure in an interview with George Lopez, several advocates blast her comment.
"I think it was an ill-informed thing for her to say," Jazmin Robles a community education coordinator with the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center tells RadarOnline. "It was a very strong comment to make because rape is defined as 'forceful penetration'." She goes on adding, "Maybe Khloe Kardashian is not educated enough on this subject to be talking about it in the context of airport security."
Gloria Allred, who has been a victims' rights advocate, gives a similar response. "Words matter and the word 'rape' should be used with caution and with great respect for the victims who have been forced to endure it. It is completely inappropriate to use that word for scans or pat downs at airports," she states.
Meanwhile, Communications Specialist for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Jessica M. Cavey, says, "We do take exception to the use of the word 'rape' to describe airport security procedures, because that is both unfair to security personnel who have a different purpose for touching people; and it also minimizes the experience of an actual rape, which is a very severe and traumatic form of violence."
Khloe Kardashian compared security checks at airport to being raped as she felt uncomfortable about it. "I got asked the other day, do you want to go for a screening or get padded down. I don't want that X-Ray to see everything, honey!" she shared when appearing on "Lopez Tonight" Monday, December 6. "The people are so aggressive! It's like, 'Chill out, you didn't find anything on me yet, calm down.' They say, 'OK, I'm going to be patting you down and I'm going to be touching the crease of your ass.' That is so inappropriate!"
