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Sexual Misconduct by School Employees

Sexual Misconduct by School Employees

View the Power Topic Sexual Misconduct by School Employees

What’s Ahead

Some school employees take advantage of their authority and status as trusted adults to sexually abuse students.

In this presentation you will learn:

  • What is school employee sexual misconduct?
  • How widespread is the problem?
  • What is grooming?
  • What are the effects on students?
  • What can we do?

Definitions

Perpetrator: The person who harasses or assaults a victim

Sexual Misconduct: Unwanted physical, verbal, or visual behaviors of a sexual nature

Grooming: Techniques perpetrators use to manipulate and gain the trust of potential victims

Targets: Students that perpetrators choose by exploiting vulnerabilities

Control: Methods perpetrators use to persuade a student not to report abuse

School employee sexual misconduct

Unwanted physical behavior that causes discomfort:

  • Full body hugs
  • Inappropriate touching
  • Student sitting on lap
  • Sexual contact

Verbal or visual behavior causing discomfort:

  • Inappropriate comments on appearance or body parts
  • Excessive compliments
  • Inappropriate texts, email, or social media
  • Sending nude pictures, pornography

Who are the targets?

Vulnerable students who may be exploited because they:

  • Have physical or cognitive disabilities
  • Have academic, behavioral, or emotional issues
  • Have drug or alcohol problems
  • Have reputations of not being believable
  • Feel lonely or shunned by peers
  • Face challenges at home
  • Have immigration status issues

Perpetrators target vulnerable students because:

  • They are less likely to inform on a perpetrator
  • If they inform, they are less likely to be believed

Grooming

How perpetrators manipulate students:

  • Build a special trusted relationship with a student and parents
  • Offer one-to-one tutoring or mentorship on and off campus
  • Give special attention, praise, affection, or gifts
  • Talk about romantic or sexual relationships
  • Normalize sexual contact
  • Suggest using drugs or alcohol

Control

How perpetrators persuade a student to keep silent:

  • Manipulate the student’s affections
  • Exploit the power differential by intimidating the student into thinking that no one will believe them if they report
  • Threaten actions that would negatively impact student achievement in academics, sports, or arts
  • Threaten to tell someone about student’s illegal behavior
  • Threaten to harm family members or pets

How widespread is the problem?

  • About 17% of students say they’ve experienced some form of inappropriate behavior from a school employee*
  • In the first 9 months of 2022, 199 public educators in the United States were arrested for sex-related crimes against students**
  • Latino, Black, and Indigenous students disproportionally experience school employee abuse***

* “Title IX Policy Implementation and Sexual Harassment Prevalence in K-12 Schools”  (2023)

** “At least 269 K-12 educators arrested on child sex crimes in first 9 months of this year” (2022)

*** “Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature” (2004)

Percentage of targets by gender

Percentage of students who reported experiencing school employee sexual misconduct are primarily female*

Male  28%

Female 72%

* “Educator Sexual Misconduct Remains Prevalent in Schools” (2022)

Perpetrators by gender

School employees who engaged in sexual misconduct are primarily male*

Male  85%

Female 15%

* “Educator Sexual Misconduct Remains Prevalent in Schools” (2022)

Perpetrators by role

Percentage of students reporting which school employee(s) sexually harassed them*

Teacher or substitute 51.2%

Athletic coach or trainer 33.3%

Other 15.5%

* “Title IX Policy Implementation and Sexual Harassment Prevalence in K-12 Schools” (2023)Watch Video

How are students harassed?

Percentage of students who reported how a school employee sexually harassed them*

Verbally 42.8%

Inappropriate touch 39%

Sexual contact 8%

Sexual messages/images 6.4%

Spying 3.7%

* “Title IX Policy Implementation and Sexual Harassment Prevalence in K-12 Schools” (2023)

How and where is it happening?

  • People of all genders can be abusers
  • People of all genders can by victims
  • It can take place:
    • In the classroom
    • During after-school activities
    • Before, during, or after sports events
    • On field trips
    • On school transportation
    • At school employee’s home

Scenario 1

A new student, Alex, is attending high school. He tries out for the baseball team and attends practice a few times per week. After one practice, his coach calls him into the office to talk about performance goals one-on-one. The coach makes casual jokes and Alex laughs along. The meetings in the office become regular and sometimes the coach makes inappropriate jokes. Alex has heard this described as “locker room talk” and goes along with it though he feels uncomfortable. The situation escalates. The coach compliments Alex and eventually starts touching him. Alex doesn’t know how to get help. The coach reassures him this is a normal relationship when a player is “special” like him. Alex is afraid that if he tells someone, the coach will have him removed from the team and he could lose scholarship opportunities. The abuse becomes more frequent, and Alex feels trapped.

How does the coach control the abusive relationship?

  • Physical: inappropriate touching

How might Alex be more vulnerable as a target than other students?

  • Threatening Alex and attempting to normalize the relationship

How might Alex be more vulnerable as a target than other students?

  • He is new to the school and might not have many friends to turn to. He needs a scholarship.

Scenario 2

Cooper is a talented and bright 6thgrade student with a mild developmental disability. When his father-figure uncle died at the beginning of middle school, Cooper became noticeably withdrawn. His male math teacher noticed this and offered Cooper extra tutoring at lunch time. They met in a classroom in a remote part of campus that was scheduled for remodeling. Soon the teacher began showing Cooper pornography and took him to an isolated bathroom where he repeatedly raped him over two years, threatening to kill Cooper if he told anyone. The teacher convinced Cooper that his mother approved of their relationship and that he would be keeping a watch on Cooper from his nearby home. Cooper’s emotional health worsened but he did not disclose the abuse for several years.

Can you identify the types of abuse?

  • Visual: pornography, Physical: rape

How does the teacher control the abusive relationship?

  • Threats of violence, death, and surveillance; normalizing the relationship

How does the teacher control the abusive relationship?

  • Threats of violence, death, and surveillance; normalizing the relationship

How might Cooper be more vulnerable as a target than other students?

  • He has a disability; experienced the death of a father figure

What are the effects of sexual abuse?

School employee sexual misconduct can have these effects on victims:

  • Academic consequences:
    • Avoiding teachers and school
    • Problems concentrating and lower grades
  • Emotional consequences:
    • Fear, shame, self-doubt
    • Depression, anxiety
  • Long-term effects:
    • Substance abuse
    • Mistrust of institutions
    • Difficulty forming intimate relationships

Scenario 3

Anne is a high school biology teacher in a small town. Her student Brian is a tall 16-year-old who plays on the basketball team. He does not socialize with his teammates and is considered a loner. Anne emailed Brian, offering to assist him with his homework after school, first in her classroom and later at her home. Anne started asking Brian about whether he had ever made out with girls, requesting him to describe the details. She befriended Brian’s parents, who allowed him to take an overnight trip with her to a state science fair. They had sex on that trip, and continued having sexual relations in hotels, in her car, and in her classroom during her free period. He experienced depression for many years as a result of this relationship.

Can you identify the types of abuse?

  • Physical: sexual relations

How does the teacher control the abusive relationship?

  • Threats of violence, death, and surveillance; normalizing the relationship

How does the teacher control the abusive relationship?

  • Gains trust of parents, normalizes the relationship

How might Brian be vulnerable as a target?

  • Does not have many friends, might feel pressure as a male to accept sexual advances of a teacher

Scenario 4

At orchestra rehearsals, Mr. Jones  often compliments Sam and her  friends, making her feel comfortable and valued. He also makes sexual jokes  and comments. Sam brushes them off  because she trusts her teacher. She sees  one of her friends, Jenna, occasionally  alone with the teacher after rehearsals. Sam notices that Jenna starts to get rides home from Mr. Jones.  Jenna has been having a rough time  at home and feels that rehearsal is  a place where she is appreciated. Sam is worried that her friend could  be in an inappropriate relationship  with the teacher, but when she asks  about it, Jenna quickly shuts down the  conversation. After learning about  grooming behaviors, Sam starts to  worry. Sam lets Jenna know about confidential support resources at the local crisis center. Sam explains that the counselors there are not required to disclose information to parents, the police, or child protection officials. Later, Jenna tells Sam she is glad that Sam intervened. Sam and Jenna stay friends, and Sam continues supporting Jenna.

How did Sam know to talk to Jenna about what was happening?

  • Sam saw warning signs like extended time alone with Mr. Jones and Jenna’s vulnerability because of her home life.

How did Sam help Jenna?

  • Sam tried to make space for Jenna to confide in her. She informs Jenna about confidential resources. Jenna can gather information about when and how to report her situation to the school.

Talk about it

What are examples of inappropriate verbal or physical behavior on the part of school staff?

What are some reasons why a student who reports being abused by a school employee is often disbelieved?

Can schools create an environment that discourages employee sexual misconduct? What would that look like?

What can we do?

We can work to reduce the stigma and vulnerability around reporting school employee sexual abuse.

  • Raise awareness:
    • Start conversations to educate students and parents
    • Learn to recognize inappropriate situations
    • Learn about and publicize reporting options
  • Advocate for:
    • Clear procedures for reporting inappropriate behavior (anonymous and confidential options)
    • Clear definitions of unacceptable behavior
    • Stronger policies regarding student/staff boundaries

Learn more

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