Stopping Teachers From Raping Children
There is an outstanding article written by Wendy Murphy in the Patriot Ledger here that talks about the consequences of sexual assault by teachers against young boys. Too often the subject is dismissed as the child “getting lucky” rather than the horrifying crime it is.
She writes:
Gender aside, there’s something scary about the idea that a person can achieve a master’s degree in education, make it through the hiring process, successfully educate kids for a while, have parents say things like “what a great teacher,” and then one day – boom – she’s an alleged rapist who took advantage of a motherless 12-year-old boy and had her way with him 300 times in 18 months!
According to the Department of Justice, females account for 6,000 sexual offenses each year. A total of 1.6 million men and 1.5 million women were sexually abused by women when they were children. The majority of female offenders are between 22 and 33 years old and are not mentally ill. They are typically employed in professional jobs or as managers and a high percentage of their victims are “close” contacts, such as students, family friends and children they advised in some fashion.
When they offend against boys, we either ignore or discount the harm because it seems impossible for a boy’s parts to get, um, tingly if he’s truly being harmed. Truth is, boys suffer terribly, even when their parts are tingling. But because we high-five them as “lucky,” they aren’t free to talk about the experience as painful. This silencing adds to the psychic pain for male victims and so long as we continue to view male sexual abuse through the prism of an orgasm, it will continue.
If we really care about boys, we need to mind the research that shows how they suffer as men. As adults, they often suffer from PTSD, drug addiction, failed intimate relationships, etc., and they don’t heal easily because they have to find a way to connect the dots between adult symptoms and long since-ceased abuse.
Kids will never be safe from predatory teachers unless schools do at least three things:
- Screen applicants with a good psychological tool to ferret out those with personality disorders.
- Adopt clear guidelines so that boundary violations are recognized as warning signs.
- Enforce guidelines with mandatory sanctions so that risk factors lead to swift termination.
If prevention is the goal, these things are important because the flames of teacher sexual abuse are typically preceded by the smoke of boundary violations.
Boundary violations like hugging, kissing, car rides, after school care, all in the name of “caring” should be banned. Kids need to get affection and care from their parents. All that is required from a teacher is a dedicated transfer of knowledge. Thanks to BadBadTeacher for the link to the article.
Okay some slight problems with your 3 things.
1. Anyone can fool a shrink test and if this is grounds for firing no teacher will go for help when they need it.
2. Students lie about being molested on a regular basis (I have heard more then enough horror stories about it) and now you want to make it so all it takes is a hugging a student in their moment of need to fire someone. Yeah that will make things better.
3. See 2.
Its not that I am against any of those ideas, just saying they won’t work at all.
Bryan,
Welcome back. I agree with you about number 1. I don’t know of any tests that can accurately detect former victims of abuse, and when applied to teachers, who are union members, it would be standardized easy to pass.
2. Yeah, students do lie. That is also why, to protect themselves, teachers should avoid any appearance of impropriety. No touching, no hugging, and never be alone with a student. If a teacher followed that rule, they could never be accused of a crime.
Hugs should come from the parents. It sounds cold and cruel to forbid teachers from hugging kids, but something snaps in many of these female teachers. I don’t understand what it is. But teachers need to teach, not cuddle students.