Quotes

Educator Student Sexual Assault

Here's what some survivors of have said:

"All I ever wanted was someone to listen and to hold me, nothing more!" "I began lying to my parents to create more time with her. There was a lot of guilt developing in me that I forced myself to ignore."

"He frequently indicated that our relationship was perfectly normal and told me that there were many students involved with teachers in our school."

"Because I trusted him and my parents liked him, I did not think this behavior was inappropriate."

"The abuse by him was horrible, but the punishment inflicted on me for being 'immoral' still hurts in my very soul."

"The teacher was transferred to another school and all the kids blamed me."

"I wound up moving away from the town to escape the harassment I was receiving from fellow students to
keep my mouth shut."

"Our school administrator's utmost concerns were protecting the reputation of the teacher and the
district."

"The idea of consent is so ridiculous. As students it is not our job to know better -- it is the teachers' job. It's their job to take care of us and guide us -- not exploit us or molest us. It is never the student's fault. We are young and we are learning. We are not expected to know better when it comes to math and English. Why should we be expected to know more on the issue of sexuality?"

Society Places Trust In Teachers And Allows Them To Have Power And Authority Over The Lives Of Children. Teachers Are Capable Of Abusing This Power By Pursuing Students And Manipulating And Controlling Them Into Inappropriate Acts, Such As Sexual Relationships. These Inappropriate Acts Are Abusive, In My Opinion -- No Matter What The Circumstance, Because Of This Imbalance Of Power. Much Of Society Has A Difficult Time Understanding This Power Imbalance, And Many Just Want To Avoid The Thought Of This Abuse Happening In Our Nation'S Schools. Sadly, Much Of This Abuse Goes On Unreported, Allowing The Teacher To Continue His/Her Abuse With Other Innocent Children. Some Victims Struggle With Whether What Happened To Them Was Really Abuse. They Feel That If They Consented That They Are Also Responsible For The Relationship. As Taken From The Advocateweb Page, " . . . There Is Often Such A Severe Imbalance Of 'Power' In This Relationship That The Possibility Of True Consent Does Not Exist." Something Very Simple That Sesame Has Said Was, "Remember That You Were A Kid . . . He Was The Adult. All Responsibility Was His." We As Survivors Need To Be Constantly Reminded Of This. I Hope That By Writing This That Maybe I Helped Someone Else Better Understand This Abuse Of Power. Do Remember . . . If You Are A Survivor, Please Do Not Take On Any Of The Blame.

Here's what others have said:

"They would rather stick their heads in the sand and believe that our son is lying rather than deal with the possibility of a pedophile teaching in their school." -- Victim's Father, 48 Hours, 4/16/98

"These teachers involved in sexual misconduct cases] are not just well protected, they're over protected." -- Cathy Burke, columnist, New York Post

"When one has experienced being sexually abused by a person who's in a position of trust or authority, the victim is never really the same" -- Donna Covello, SESAME past President and Survivor.