How to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in Classrooms

Ally Lucas

Pre­AP English 1

Amanda Evetts

21 May, 2014

How to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse in Schools

Child abuse has been an enormous problem in every corner of the world for years, but a specific

type of child abuse many times goes unnoticed. Teachers sexually abusing their students is becoming

more and more common in today's society, and going overlooked more often than not. 4.5 million

students nationwide in grades kindergarten through 12th have been sexually assaulted by an educator.

This number includes both upperclassmen/teacher inappropriate relationships and pure pedophile

relationships. Child abuse needs to be stopped because many psychological problems can affect the

children. Unfortunately, many children don't bring their issues to anyone's attention, so the attackers

stay hidden.

It's very important for this issue to be brought into light because sexual abuse is obviously unlawful,

and many times, the criminal either goes completely unpunished or is very lightly punished. For example,

a Korean tutor avoided jail because his wife "speaks very little english" and his family relies on him to

support the family with all their needs, although he sexually abused an eleven year old girl for nine

months. This is not only a very clear example of social injustice, but it's utterly disgusting. Anyone who

commits any kind of abuse to a defenseless child deserves to go to jail for the maximum sentence

allowed under law.

Children many times do not speak up about their abuse for many reasons. Some kids are afraid of

disappointing their parents or disrupting the family with their problems, and some are afraid of making

their teacher angry and their teacher responding with more abuse or bad grades. Some children are too

young to understand what's happening to them and their teacher tells them the abuse is "okay" and that

it's "just a game."

Child abuse has many psychological effects on children. Studies about childhood development show

that the brain develops mainly during childhood in response to the experiences one has endured. When

a child is abused, it can cause depression, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, academic problems, isolation,

flashbacks, and insomnia. Children who are sexually abused can even develop sexually transmitted

diseases. These side effects can last into adulthood and their past of abuse can haunt them for the rest of

their life.

Child abuse needs to be put to an end. Children many times can't overpower their attacker, so they

have to let whatever happens, happen. Students should be able to go to school and feel safe, not scared

or violated in any form. To resolve this issue, I believe teachers should be monitored more often, even

when giving after school tutorials. Monthly interviews with random students should also take place to

talk about anything suspicious they notice happening in the classroom. Also, when the principals are

hiring, background checks should be incredibly thorough to ensure the safety of their students.

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Works Cited

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"Mothers of Abuse Victims Plan Lawsuit against Los Angeles School District." Gale Powersearch.

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