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I wish incidents like this would bring about more and better dialogue. There is much to be learned both about the perpetrators and their motivation, the impact on the victims, and on societal stereotypes.
We have consent laws in place to protect minors. If you ask many 13 year old 'victims' they will state they were not only not victims but willing participants and in some instances claim they are the aggressors. The adolescent brain doesnt think through the process from an adult perspective or a human perspective. Ive seen cases where the male victims insisted they experienced no harm and didnt want to cooperate in the investigations and legal proceedings, instead seeking to protect the perpetrator as a peer/partner. What the adolescent male misses is that the adult/child relationship skews their concept of relationship and prevents them from developing a 'normal' understanding of human sexuality which is eventually and unfortunately imposed on future relationships. OF COURSE there is harm...its just very hard for them to see it. Its also hard for society to see it, as many (not sure if I wouldnt characterize it as most, especially most men) would default to comments like "I wouldnt have minded being sexually assaulted by MY teacher when I was a kid." Thats the kind of male identity that is coupled with the concept of "shut up, stop crying, grow up, be a man" mindset that begins when boys are as young as 2 years old. (Typically) Girls are nurtured...boys are controlled. Girls are taught love, boys are taught to avoid expressions of feeling and love as they are perceived by other men as weakness. And this isnt even considered trauma...this is 'normal'. Add trauma to the mix..**** gets real wonky. That kind of mentality also often develops into a jaded perspective on male on female sexual harassment in the workplace where individuals may not perpetrate, but they may tolerate.
Its also helpful to understand why some women and especially teachers become predators. It would help to be able to teach an understanding of the characteristics to students in the teaching fields as well as to teach them to administrators to help them to identify these problems before they become a problem.
We have consent laws in place to protect minors. If you ask many 13 year old 'victims' they will state they were not only not victims but willing participants and in some instances claim they are the aggressors. The adolescent brain doesnt think through the process from an adult perspective or a human perspective. Ive seen cases where the male victims insisted they experienced no harm and didnt want to cooperate in the investigations and legal proceedings, instead seeking to protect the perpetrator as a peer/partner. What the adolescent male misses is that the adult/child relationship skews their concept of relationship and prevents them from developing a 'normal' understanding of human sexuality which is eventually and unfortunately imposed on future relationships. OF COURSE there is harm...its just very hard for them to see it. Its also hard for society to see it, as many (not sure if I wouldnt characterize it as most, especially most men) would default to comments like "I wouldnt have minded being sexually assaulted by MY teacher when I was a kid." Thats the kind of male identity that is coupled with the concept of "shut up, stop crying, grow up, be a man" mindset that begins when boys are as young as 2 years old. (Typically) Girls are nurtured...boys are controlled. Girls are taught love, boys are taught to avoid expressions of feeling and love as they are perceived by other men as weakness. And this isnt even considered trauma...this is 'normal'. Add trauma to the mix..**** gets real wonky. That kind of mentality also often develops into a jaded perspective on male on female sexual harassment in the workplace where individuals may not perpetrate, but they may tolerate.
Its also helpful to understand why some women and especially teachers become predators. It would help to be able to teach an understanding of the characteristics to students in the teaching fields as well as to teach them to administrators to help them to identify these problems before they become a problem.