Girl locked in airplane bathroom to "set rules", is this legal? Lawyer's opinion
2024-08-28
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Recently, a video of two female passengers on a plane taking a crying little girl away from her grandmother and locking her in the cabin bathroom to "set rules" sparked heated discussions online. Many netizens questioned such an operation.
The lawyer said in an interview with the Beijing Daily client that regardless of whether the guardians agreed or not, the two passengers' behavior of taking the child into the bathroom for "education" violated the legal rights of minors and affected the order and flight safety of the aircraft. Psychological counseling experts reminded that this simple and crude behavior is not only undesirable, but the emotional memory it generates may also affect the child's life.
event
One-year-old girl was taken to the cabin bathroom by a stranger for "education"
Recently, a netizen posted a video saying: On August 24, on a plane from Guiyang to Shanghai, two ladies could not stand the crying of a one-year-old girl, so they forcibly took the little girl away from her grandmother and locked her in the airplane toilet to "educate" her.
The video circulating on the Internet shows a little girl standing in the corner of the bathroom crying her heart out, calling out "Grandma". Two ladies were also squeezed into the small bathroom, coaxing and scolding her: "Good baby, stop crying. If you stop crying, I can take you out." "If you stop crying, I will take you out to find grandma." "Shut up, do you hear me? Stop crying."
After the video was released, it sparked heated discussions online. On the evening of August 26, Juneyao Airlines released a statement on the matter, saying that after verification, the child passenger was traveling with his grandparents on flight HO2382 (Guiyang-Pudong) on August 24. The child continued to cry during the flight. In order to avoid disturbing other passengers' rest, with the consent of his grandmother, two passengers took the child to the bathroom to educate him. During the process, the child's grandmother went with him and waited at the bathroom door.
In addition, the airline has verified the situation with the child's mother by phone. The child's mother said that she had learned the full incident from her grandmother and expressed understanding for the two passengers' assistance on board.
On August 27, Juneyao Airlines responded to the media again, saying that the airline condemned the practice of strangers taking young children to conduct so-called "education" alone, apologized for the incident and the negligence of the crew, and Juneyao Airlines will make improvements. In addition, it is not allowed for multiple people to go to the toilet together.
lawyer
This is illegal regardless of whether the guardian agrees or not.
The reporter noticed that although Juneyao Airlines issued a statement saying that the two passengers' actions were carried out with the consent of the child's grandmother, many netizens still questioned: With the consent of the parents, do strangers have the right to take the child to the bathroom for "education"? Some netizens also asked whether it was illegal for multiple people to enter the bathroom? Did the security guard and flight attendant fail to do their job?
Yang Gaofan, a lawyer at Beijing Jingzhen Law Firm, pointed out that Article 4 of my country's "Law on the Protection of Minors" clearly stipulates that matters involving minors should be handled in accordance with the laws and characteristics of the healthy physical and mental development of minors, adhere to the principle of what is most beneficial to minors, and combine protection with education.
"Regardless of whether they had the guardian's consent, the two passengers' behavior of taking the child into the bathroom for education was extremely inappropriate and illegal. This simple and rough way of education is not only detrimental to the child's physical and mental health, but also places the child in a space without safety protection during the flight, which is also inconsiderate," said Yang Gaofan.
In addition, the "Minors Protection Law" stipulates that respecting the personal dignity of minors and protecting their privacy and personal information is the common responsibility of the whole society. Yang Gaofan believes that the video publisher's behavior of publicly releasing the video without any treatment of the child may also infringe on the minor's portrait rights and privacy rights, and the video should be deleted in time to eliminate the impact.
Yang Gaofan believes that protecting children's healthy growth in all aspects, from physical and mental health to personal dignity, should not be just a provision in the "Law on the Protection of Minors", but should become the common responsibility and proactive action of the whole society.
Zhang Qihuai, director of Beijing Lanpeng Law Firm, also believes that handing over a one-year-old child to a stranger to take him to the bathroom for education will cause great harm to the child's body and mind. Whether it is the child's guardian or the two passengers, this behavior is inappropriate and infringes on the legal rights of minors.
In addition, as an aircraft is a high-speed means of transportation, the cabin toilet cannot be used for any other purpose except for "convenience" and hand washing. Otherwise, it may affect the normal order of the aircraft and even affect flight safety.
Zhang Qihuai said that airplanes, as a means of transportation, have no age restrictions for passengers, but crew members should have received relevant training. When a child is found crying in the cabin, the flight attendants should take the initiative to ask, comfort and help the child. The crew members also failed to fulfill their duties in this regard.
"No matter what, we cannot take extreme actions. I hope these two female passengers will learn a lesson from this incident," said Zhang Qihuai.
Psychologist
Emotional memories may affect children throughout their lives
"Children under three years old are very sensitive to emotions. When strangers bring such young children to a small space for education, it will cause great psychological fear to the child. The emotional memory generated may affect the child for a long time. If the child is sensitive, it may even affect the child for a lifetime." Psychological counseling expert Han Sanqi reminded.
Han Sanqi told the reporter that from a psychological perspective, there are only a few reasons why children under three years old cry: they are hungry, sleepy, uncomfortable, and bored. The vibrations of the plane's rise and fall and the air currents have a greater impact on children over one year old. Children may cry because of physical discomfort. How to deal with it correctly at this time is crucial to the impact on the child.
"Children under three years old have a very strong ability to remember emotions. They may not remember the incident when they grow up, but emotional memory can always accompany the child as he or she grows up." Han Sanqi said that in this situation, neither rough treatment nor cold treatment is appropriate and will have a negative impact on the child's future growth.
What is the best way to deal with it? Han Sanqi said that parents should hold their children in their arms, let the child's head lie on the parents' chest, pat the child's back gently, and talk to the child softly. "Usually, as long as the parents' emotions are stable, the child will soon sense it and the emotions will be soothed. If the parents' emotions are constantly tense because of the child's crying, the child's emotions will also be affected, and the crying will be aggravated."
Han Sanqi believes that the public should be tolerant of children's normal crying. If adults are particularly sensitive to the noise produced by the normal crying of children under three years old, and react strongly to the noise stimulation or even lose control, they should also be alert to whether they are in a sub-healthy state of "acute anxiety attack".
