*** There is a long history of educator sexual misconduct being portrayed in the media in harmful ways. These damaging portrayals often involve romanticizing “relationships” between teachers and students, making them seem like exciting, scandalous affairs. In other portrayals, the relationship is made light of in a comedic way. Additionally, there are many, many songs written by (usually male) artists about their attraction or pursuit of underage targets.
If these are fictional plots, fictional characters… Does it really matter? The answer is YES. Seeing these portrayals on-screen affect our schema of sexual “relationships” between an adult and a child. This impacts how we think, feel, and respond when we are faced with these situations in real life. It normalizes the concept while completely misrepresenting what is actually sexual abuse.
The following list only includes realistic, constructive portrayals of educator sexual misconduct. These sources serve as educational resources, inspiration, prevention advocacy, and sources of healing for targets. ***
Educator Sexual Misconduct in Media
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The Tale
Documentary/filmmaker Jennifer Fox tells her autobiographical account of being groomed and abused by an instructor and coach at a horseback riding camp at the age of 13.
Available on HBO Max and Prime Video.
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Keep This Between Us
Cheryl Nichols re-examines a past relationship with her high school theater teacher. Over the course of a 4-episode miniseries, she exposes a culture of abuse in her former school district and highlights the journeys of two other women who had bee abused by teachers.
Available on most streaming services.
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Invisible Target: Breaking the Cycle of Educator Sexual Abuse
Invisible Target is a book by Andrea Clemens. It is a true, detailed account of her experience of educator sexual abuse at the hands of her middle school teacher. It follows her journey, beginning with her tumultuous childhood, meeting the teacher, and the grooming process he created to lure her into a false sense of trust and ultimate betrayal. After years of abuse and manipulation, she finally found the courage to bravely break away from her abuser.
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What Haunts Us
Of the 49 boys that Paige Goldberg Tolmach graduated with in the class of 1979, six have taken their own lives. In an attempt to investigate a possible cause for this unusual statistic, she discovers a male teacher had been sexually abusing students for a decade, unchecked and protected by the administration.
Available on Prime Video.
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Not Words But Deeds
A prestigious Bay Area high school is under investigation for a sex abuse scandal. Former students reveal their stories of abuse for the first time.
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Innocence Shattered: The Devastating Legacy of Educator Sexual Misconduct
This documentary was produced by the non-profit organization You have The Power... Know How To Use It! The production interviews two targets of educator sexual misconduct in their adulthood, a senator, and a school resource officer to discuss the problem of sexual abuse in schools.
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My Dark Vanessa
This book is a fictional account of a 32-year-old woman navigating the realization that the relationship she had with her high school English teacher as a teenager was sexual abuse. The story is set at the height of the #MeToo movement, compellingly told through the use of flashbacks and memories. Author Kate Elizabeth Russel does an excellent job handling the complexity and intricacies surrounding consent, trauma, memory, and the psychology of abusive teachers and their targets.