Transgender passenger 'forced to remove prosthetic penis' by airport security

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A transgender passenger has told how he was forced to remove his prosthetic penis while going through airport security.

The man submitted a complaint through the National LGBTI Health Alliance to a Senate committee inquiry on airport and aviation security.

He said he was selected to go through the body scanner, which picked up the prosthetic.

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According to the Daily Mail, the man said: "I explained to the officer at the scanner that I am trans and that I was wearing a prosthetic, to which he responded that he would need to get his supervisor.

"In full view of other travellers, the supervisor approached me putting rubber gloves on. He seemed more concerned with displaying his authority and making a spectacle out of the situation.

"When I asked him what the gloves were for, he told me that he was going to do a 'private search'.

"Not only did this make me feel incredibly uneasy, and anxious, but it was demeaning and unnecessary."

The man was taken into a room for the private search, when the supervisor put on a second pair of gloves. When asked why, he replied: "You want me to touch that thing with my bare hands?"

He had to place the prosthetic penis on a tray and was then patted down.

He said he was forced to put the prosthetic back with two staff members watching.

According to the Mirror, her added: "I have had to deal with some very confronting situations in the past so have developed a thick skin, but this experience overshadowed what was meant to be a holiday and it has left me feeling incredibly degraded and has made me anxious about travelling."