EDITOR:
In three months we could see the headlines about increased human trafficking during the World Cup events. Currently the headlines are about a man accused of filming/recording women in the KCI airport restrooms. Though disgusted, I’m hoping that verbal diarrhea or reactive hysteria won’t follow.
Let’s address this calmly. As a mother with two daughters and four granddaughters, and as a woman in a world where my half of the population encounters an extraordinary amount of abuse and exploitation, first allow this image of a “very safe” public restroom: A lockable “no stall” single use person/family/facility with clear entrance/exit view. My personal opinion is that safety is not guaranteed by gender assignments, and seems more questionable when a person walks a long corridor or uses isolated areas to access a public restroom, and furthermore, anxiety may surface when confronted with multiple “closed stalls;” we don’t know who’s behind these rows of doors.
From a practical viewpoint (generally that means monetary considerations), when examining malls, airports, large libraries, schools, or any site with extensive human flow, we are not likely to see modifications that will greatly increase restroom safety, so it makes no sense to create a huge issue about voyeuristic behavior.
Putting this issue aside, I ask that Platte County citizens not allow this criminal voyeur to be a distraction from the sexual abuses that may affect women (and men) with our planned variations of World Cup housing accommodations.
Obvious fact: Human trafficking remains a serious problem, and if we are not attentive, it will increase in our area. Legislators and/or community regulators need to think about this.
---Marie Stutterheim
Weston
