配图：美国30岁女教师Jennifer Ficher 因和3名17岁学生ooxx，被判处22年有期徒刑，事件一度引起网民热议。
来源于煎蛋网，本文译自 conversation，由译者 CliffBao 基于创作共用协议(BY-NC)发布。 Andrea J. Darling(杜伦大学)
2015年，100多名女性被判性犯罪。这一数字在十年里几乎翻到了原来的三倍。在这些罪犯中，有大量的学校教员，包括教师、校长以及助教。
有魅力的女教师“引诱”天真的青少年学生是热播电视剧中常见的情节。这类故事常被描述为“成年”经历，但在法律上，教师与自己照料的孩子发生任何形式的性关系就是性犯罪。虽然这并不常诉诸于口，但学校中女性施行性虐待的确存在。
虽然这种虐待在发生，但由于该领域的研究有限，确定这有多常见却很困难。美国的一项研究表明女性占信任之人孩童性虐待的19%。最近一项国际研究综述涵盖了大量国家，也发现类似的结果，称九分之一的性犯罪者是女性。
Many, though not all, appear to abuse as a result of their own intimacy needs. Shutterstock
Existing research is unclear if these types of female sex offenders tend to prefer male or female victims. Indeed, my own research has shown that while male pupils are the most typical victims, over a fifth of victims are female. And I’ve also found that many of these women who abuse girls are not known to have previously been involved in same-sex adult relationships.
The female abuser
Despite the impact this type of abuse can have on a victim, in these types of cases it is often debated whether this is anything more than just professional misconduct if the victim is over the age of consent.
This is because social and cultural norms mean that women are often viewed as nurturers and carers, “the fairer sex” and therefore not capable of sexual aggression. So this means that abuse by a woman is seen as being less harmful than abuse by a man – and viewed as the result of mental instability or coercion by a male partner. And this not only minimises the offending behaviour, but it also unfairly downplays the consequences for victims.
This behaviour is abusive and needs to be regarded as such. It is a form of sexual violence recognised in law since the introduction the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act in 2000. This makes it quite clear that any sexual behaviour between an adult and a young person aged over the age of consent – which in the UK is 16 – but under the age of 18, is a criminal offence, and punishable by up to five years in prison.
The realities of abuse
Although it is positive that there is more coverage of female sex offenders across the mainstream media, sadly, these representations are all to often sensationalised and do not portray the reality of the abuse and the impact it can have on victims.
There needs to be less of the soft focus, romantic themed shots set against dreamy music and more of the harsh reality of the impact of this type of abuse on young people – as well as their friends, families and communities.
Ultimately, these inappropriate female teacher-pupil relationships need to be reported and presented in the same way they would be if the perpetrator was a male – which tends to be much more a narrative of abuse rather than the star crossed lovers motif so often seen in TV dramas.
【文章仅代表作者观点，配图来自网络】
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