Female Sex Offenders: Getting Off Too Easy?

            I read this article a few weeks ago and was really interested in the idea that men and women are treated different in accounts of perpetrating sexual abuse. In this case, a former teacher’s aid was convicted of three separate accounts of sexual abuse with a minor, and she has received lifetime probation and no jail time. This article points out the interesting double standard wherein male sexual predators generally go to jail and for a much longer time than their female counterparts. I actually had a teacher in highschool who was a female who was mixed up in a sexual abuse scandle with a student, however she remained teaching at my school and has continued since. Our male band teacher did not fare so well under the same charges.

            Generally, women are the victims of the legal system, however I believe that this is a huge concern and problem. A minor is a minor, female or male, and they should have their sexual rights protected, particularly from adults that are supposed to be in positions of utmost trust. While there are considerably fewer accounts of female teacher’s sexually abusing their students, it does not mean that the women who commit these acts should not be treated equally and fair under the law.  If women want equality, we must be willing to accept the downsides of equality as well.

Here is the article: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/05/gabriela_compton_received_lifetime_probation_for_sexually_abusing_two_boys_.html