Sexual Misconduct by Educational Professionals

Mark Littleton

Sexual misconduct is defined as inappropriate professional behavior of a sexual nature. The term includes sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and inappropriate sexual relationships. Although there is no definitive study indicating how prevalent educator sexual misconduct is, experts in the field estimate that approximately 10 percent of the student population experiences some form of inappropriate sexual activity with an educator at some time during their PreK-12 education. Yet because of the shame and guilt often experienced by students, these same experts suggest that there is a greater incidence of sexual misconduct than actually reported. This entry briefly discusses typical instances of misconduct and makes some suggestions for identifying and preventing such cases. The most common form of educator sexual misconduct is classified as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature. One type of sexual harassment is quid pro quo, literally meaning “this for that,” in which a ...

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