A 30-year-old PE teacher convicted of multiple sexual offences against a 16-year-old boy; a 34-year-old music teacher whose 13-year-old pupil fathered her child; a 31-year-old maths teacher jailed for having sex with two teenage students, one whose baby she gave birth to. A string of recent cases has brought the concerning issue of sexual misconduct by female teachers into the public spotlight.
As a senior lecturer in criminology and justice, my work has increased understanding of how and why some female teachers sexually abuse students. It has made it clear that a gender blindness can make it hard to recognise some women as perpetrators, which can lead to devastating results.
My research has highlighted how we need to be alert to any signs of concern in the relationships between female teachers and students in the same way as those of male teachers. Although every case involving female perpetrators is unique, some common patterns have emerged in the research.
A UK study of 71 women who had perpetrated sexual abuse in an institutional context – such as in schools – found that the average age of these women was 31. They typically offended solo, had been in their career for several years, did not have a criminal history and abused older teenagers, mostly males. Many of these characteristics apply to Bronwen James, the PE teacher who was convicted of sexual offences at Winchester Crown Court last month, where she indicated that she was a very “lenient teacher” and “wanted [pupils] to like me.”
James was convicted of three counts of sexual activity involving a schoolboy – Crown Prosecution Service/PA Wire
Then there is Naomi Craig, the music teacher who has an eight-month-old baby fathered by her victim and is currently awaiting sentencing in Western Australia. Earlier this year Rebecca Joynes, 31, was banned from teaching after becoming pregnant by a teenage boy who described how she “coerced, controlled, manipulated, sexually abused and mentally abused” him. “I will forever be Rebecca’s victim,” he said.
Historic abuse has also led to recent convictions: of a former prep school teacher, Deborah Franklin, 65, who was jailed for seven years last week after subjecting her young male victim to “repeated sexual activity” as the boy’s private tutor in the 1990s; and of chemistry teacher Sally-Anne Bowen, also 65, who in August was found guilty of indecently assaulting two teenage pupils at an all-boys secondary school during the 1980s.
Research shows that the scale of female-perpetrated sexual offending may be bigger than people realise. In my co-authored analysis of a large-scale police dataset in Australia, we found that while the majority of sexual offences were perpetrated by males, 12.2 per cent were perpetrated by females.
In the US, research of sexual abuse cases reported to child protective services found that over 20 per cent of substantiated cases involved a female as the primary perpetrator. One 2019 study that explored school employee sexual misconduct cases in the US showed that 33 per cent of perpetrators were female. Given that most victims of sexual abuse do not report their experiences to police, the majority of female perpetrators are never identified.
Even when concerning behaviour from female offenders is flagged, it may be waved off because they are women. Our research involving interviews with women convicted of sexual offences found that some ex-teachers who had offended indicated they had self-reported to their schools, yet the schools failed to act, or allegations weren’t taken seriously. Our interviews also found that those who started teaching at a young age felt like they had received insufficient screening and training around professional boundaries before beginning their employment.
Rebecca Joynes was found guilty of six sex offences involving two boys (pictured with her father at Manchester Crown Court in 2024) – Steve Allen
Research has identified a range of motivations and contributing factors for these offences, including past trauma, unhealthy or abusive relationships, emotional or sexual difficulties, distorted thinking patterns and, in some cases, the influence of a co-offender. Understanding these factors can help explain how some women come to offend, but they do not excuse the abuse or reduce accountability for the harm inflicted on victims.
Sexual offending can also be highly situational and opportunistic, shaped by access to children, positions of trust, opportunities to offend, inadequate supervision and environments in which concerning behaviours can occur or escalate without being challenged. In one study I co-authored involving a sample of 40 teacher misconduct cases, more than one-third of male teachers had received prior warnings about concerning behaviour towards students, while none of the female teachers had. This potentially indicates gender blindness to inappropriate behaviour by women that allows abuse like this to flourish.
It is a mistake to think that female-perpetrated sexual abuse is less serious. My research has found that it can be just as physically and psychologically harmful as when the abuse is carried out by a male. Preconceptions around female-perpetrated abuse can also make the situation worse for victim-survivors, especially in cases involving attractive female teachers, as it can be particularly difficult for victim-survivors to come forward, amid concerns around being believed and the abuse being treated seriously.
We need to focus on prevention. This cannot just be about identifying high-risk individuals or checking whether someone has a criminal history, as women who sexually offend are less likely to have a criminal record, meaning there’s going to be very limited value in relying on pre-employment checks.
It is vital that schools have clear policies and procedures governing contact between staff and students, that they communicate clear expectations with staff, and have reporting mechanisms in place when concerns arise. It’s also important to foster a culture where concerning conduct is recognised and addressed, regardless of the gender of the teacher involved.
Unfortunately, online environments are less regulated, they’re less visible, and this represents a huge safeguarding risk. In my research, most abuse was found to have occurred outside the school environment, which highlights the need for clear policies around electronic communication.
We cannot be blind to gender, both in recognising abuse and how we respond to it.
As told to Charlotte Lytton
Dr Lara Christensen is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice and Co-leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit (SVRPU) at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
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