Educator Sexual Abuse Cases: Media Biases Affecting Perceptions

Sexual abuse is a major issue in the United States that has only recently begun to get media attention. This media attention has resulted in a growing awareness of the problem of sexual harassment and assault in society, especially in Hollywood and politics. However, sexual abuse is not limited to those areas, but occurs in all facets of society, including the workplace, schools, prison, and the military. Sexual abuse is only recently being recognized by society as a systemic problem instead of an isolational one. Depsite, this growing awareness of the issue, educator sexual abuse remains understudied. Educator sexual abuse is a largely ignored problem in society. This paper will look at how the media portrays gender in their reporting of educator sexual abuse cases and how this can affect biases, stereotypes, and myths surrounding the issue. We will look at eight cases—four female perpetrators and four male perpetrators—of K-12 educator sexual abuse in the United States. Using two articles for each case, we will analyze how the media reports on these cases and how gender biases are further perpetuated through these reportings. Specifically, we will analyze how perpetrators are portrayed as victims, instances of victim blaming, the implications of terminology in describing consent and responsibility, and the use of click bait all continue to perpetuate stereotypes and myths surrounding the issue of sexual abuse. The media coverage of educator sexual abuse is problematic and it is important to recognize the gender biases in the news coverage. Additionally, we will argue that the media can be a part of the prevention strategy for stopping sexual assault and harassment. Society has a long way to go in stopping sexual assault and educator sexual abuse; however, awareness is often the first step in this process, and the media needs to be careful about further perpetuating damaging stereotypes and myths.