Sexual Abuse in Our Education System

Alaine Kristine, editor at
Restoration Life Foundation


There is no such thing as a perfectly safe place for your children; this includes parks, churches, youth organizations, and schools.  As a parent, you can do everything possible to make sure your children aren’t exposed to violence or abuse, but somehow it can sneak up on you.  As a parent myself, I know that I have made countless efforts to ensure the safety of my children.  This means I check out their “references” and follow through with a face-to-face interview with their friends, their friends’ parents, and their friends’ friends.  I make sure I know exactly where my kids are before and after school, and they ALWAYS ask me permission to go anywhere, even if it’s down the street.  My family members and closest friends have always been my babysitters, and my children have ALWAYS been enrolled in excellent public schools, located in safe neighborhoods.  But all of that doesn’t mean a thing, because regardless of how careful we are at selecting who our children hang out with, or what schools they attend, violence and abuse knows no boundaries and can easily infiltrate the best schools and “safest” neighborhoods.

A study prepared by the Associated Press shows that there were 2,500 incidents of sexual misconduct in American public schools over a 5 year period and estimated that 4.5 million students from Kindergarten through 12^th grade have suffered from sexual misconduct in one given year.  3 million of those the 4.5 million students experienced touching or assault, the other 1.5 million were verbally harassed or experienced inappropriate communication online.  The ratio of school days to abusive teachers is 1:3.  This means that for every 1 school day, there are 3 abusive teachers in the nation.  Between 1-5% of all teachers sexually harass or abuse a student, and 62% of sexual assault cases result in revocation of their teacher’s certification.  What happened to the other 38%?  Nearly 54% of abusers either resigned, weren’t rehired, retired, or were terminated, and 16% of the 54% were found teaching in other schools.

Sexually abusive teachers continue to take advantage even though people convicted of abuse face tough sentences and register as sex offenders.  One of the reasons sexual abuse continues to increase in the school system is because many Americans deny the problem and even treat the abuse with misplaced fascination.  School administrators make behind-the-scenes deals with victims to avoid lawsuits and public embarrassment.  Teachers, administrators, and even parents frequently don’t recognize the signs that a crime is taking place.  Too often problem teachers are allowed to leave quietly, which can mean future abuse for another student in another district.  It’s called “passing the trash” or the “mobile molester”.  There are some laws in place that require the misconduct to be reported to state departments that oversee teachers’ licenses, but there is still no consistent enforcement.  

Only 12 out of 50 states have school boards that are limiting teacher-student contact on social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter.  In fact, in New York alone from 2010-2011, there were 85 reports of inappropriate communications between teachers and students involving Facebook, and only 8 reports in 2008-2009.  With these numbers increasingly rising, what can we do as parents to protect our children?

Fortunately with the internet and social media, there are a TON of different resources where you can learn how to protect your child from sexual abuse.  Below are some references you can use to learn more about different methods for protection from abuse and prevention.

For now, information is key.  Inform your children about the proper names for their private parts.  Let them know the difference between good touch and bad touch, and how it is NEVER okay for ANYONE to touch them in a way that makes them feel uneasy.  Teach them not to place themselves in compromising situations, such as meeting with a teacher in their classroom alone. 

There is no guarantee that your child will be protected from sexual abuse just as there is no guarantee that your child will be unprotected.  All we can do as parents is our best to ensure we know our children.  Know who they are with and what they are doing.  Always have that open line of communication, and make sure they know that they can trust you, even with their deepest, darkest secret.

RESOURCES

Pandora’s Project

Parenting

Darkness to Light

Written by : Alaine Kristine
Restoration Life Foundation