and Educator Sexual Misconduct
flashed (17%), and completed and attempted
rape (14%).
• In “Child and Youth Victimization Known to
Police, School, and Medical Authorities,”
school authorities were the officials most
likely to know about past-year victimization
events (42% of victims had a victimization
known to school authorities).
• Unlike school officials, medical professionals
were not aware of episodes of victimizations
at a high rate. Only 7% were aware of sexual
abuse by a known a dult and 19% of sexual
abuses by unknown adults.
• In fact, the recent study performed by OJJP
found that, “School officials were more
likely to know of sexual victimizations that
occurred in school, were committed by an
unidentified perpetrator, occurred to a child
victim between 2 and 9 years old, or occurred
to a child who lived with a stepparent or an
unmarried partner of a parent.”
JC Bowman, executive director of Professional
Educators of Tennessee, pointed out: “We
should not be shocked when sex offenders seek
employment in jobs where they have contact
with children such as churches, schools, youth
groups, hospitals, and social services. We have
to do a better job of screening applicants in
those fields.” That is a critical point.
issue we need to address and should be a high
priority for our state and society. “If adults can’t
recognize abusers, children are even less likely
to realize that what’s happening is abuse and
that it is doing damage of a kind they can’t see,”
added Jennifer Fraser, an abuse survivor.
On behalf of my constituents I will continue to
reach out to educators, law enforcement and
those on the front lines of child abuse to seek
their input. I will then bring that information back
to my colleagues in the Tennessee General
Assembly and hopefully it will spark needed
policy discussions on this issue. State laws and
district policies must clearly identify expectations
and responsibilities in this area.
One of my goals as a member of the Tennessee
General Assembly is to make sure children and
educators in Tennessee, especially in Houston,
Humphreys and Montgomery Counties have an
advocate fighting for them. Please feel welcome
to call, write, or visit the office that is here to
represent you at (615) 741-7098 or at rep.jay.
[email protected]
He then added: “We have seen many false
claims made by and against a teacher, and once
an accusation is made it is nearly impossible
to restore a teacher’s reputation. It is a difficult
balancing act. There will never be a perfect
system. However, we support keeping those
who committed sexual misconduct out of our
classrooms. ”
With legislative session now in process, we
must get solid policy recommendations to
address child sexual abuse concerns and
address educator sexual misconduct. It is an
Representative Jay Reedy represents Houston,
Humphreys and part of Montgomery County
in House District 74 at the Tennessee General
Assembly.