Past studies have extensively investigated the issue of sexual misconduct among teachers with a focus mainly on male teachers. Recently, however, researches have begun exploring sexual misconduct involving female teachers. It is common today to read about female teachers being accused of sexual misconduct with students under their care. The cases are widespread and include all types of teachers, including principals and choir directors. Thesis: The present paper examines the issue of female teacher sex offenders with a focus on the prevalence of female teacher sexual offenses, features of female teacher sex offenders, and the proposed prevention strategies against female teacher sex offending. There has been a rising prevalence of female teacher sexual misconduct. In turn, this has led to an increased awareness of the issue. While the frequency of female teacher sex offenses is less compared to the rate of male sex offenses due to underreporting, research shows that female teacher sexual misconduct is widespread. Ratliff and Watson (2014) explored sexual misconduct by teachers in states in the South-Eastern part of the United States between 2007 and 2011. Twenty-six percent involved female perpetrators (Ratliff & Watson, 2014). The average age of offenders is estimated to be 34 years old ( Ratliff & Watson, 2014) , which indicate that offenders target victims during the middle period of their careers. Female teachers also have a higher likelihood of committing crimes against older students from aged 13 than male teachers. Researchers have not found any substantial difference in the grade level the teacher focused on during the abuse period ( Ratliff & Watson, 2014). The rate of female teacher offenders targeting male students is underreported because society socializes males to experience an appreciation of sexual interest from women. Female teacher offenders are mostly identified through student reports or the guardian or parent of the victim ( Ratliff & Watson, 2014) . Female teacher sex offenders depict various features that focus on initiating a relationship with the victim, maintaining the relationship, and shielding the relationship from being discovered. The relationship between a female teacher and a student leads to a sexual association in which the teacher initiates sexual misconduct. Due to the teacher's age and role in a student's life, she acts in a position of power, does not use force, and is not hostile towards the victim (Flora et al., 2014). Her objective in the interaction is love and sexual expression. Perpetrators are mostly victims of severe verbal and emotional abuse during childhood life or sexually abusive relationships (Flora et al., 2014).
Female use threats, violence, and force less often and are less abusive than male perpetrators. Female sex offenders also have fantasies about sexual activities with children, have contact with their victims, and groom often as a pretense for nurturing their victims (Flora et al., 2014). There are two unique profiles of female sex offenders, which are offenders abusing children in primary schools and those abusing students in post-primary or secondary schools. Perpetrators in primary school are high achievers with numerous awards for their teaching efforts. Their hard works are focused on securing trust and reputation to further their sexual misconduct. Secondary school perpetrators may or may not be high achievers and engage in sexual misconduct due to lousy judgment ( Knoll, 2010) . Abuse occurs mostly after substantial grooming through electronic communications and unique relationships ( Solis & Benedek, 2012) . Female sex offenders also use different grooming patterns to initiate and maintain sexual misconduct with students. The perpetrators first by victim selection through mental and sexual exploitation ( Knoll, 2010) . The main targets include students facing emotional difficulties and those alienated from their parents. Grooming techniques involve offering the victim special attention, rewards, or support and providing the student with valuable experiences to maintain the relationship ( Knoll, 2010) . Another method entails engaging the parent of the victim to gain trust and approval from the victim. Female solo and co-offenders also differ in which solo offenders usually have personal issues such as sexual dissatisfaction and depression, while co-offenders experience poor self-management with improved sexual self-regulation ( Ten Bensel, Gibbs & Burkey, 2016) . The prevalence of female teacher sex offenses calls for strategies and recommendations to address the issue. Studies have suggested various ways of preventing these offenses at the school and parent levels. School districts can develop and implement reliable prevention measures by publishing policies regarding sexual discrimination and adequate grievance procedures. The policies should clearly define and ban sexual misconduct involving teachers ( Knoll, 2010). Schools can also establish frequent training and in-service programs to help students, parents, and staff learn about unacceptable acts and possible signs of teacher sexual misconduct. Information regarding mandatory reporting should be clear. Schools should also standardize staff screening and hiring practices ( Knoll, 2010) . Schools are advised to perform regular awareness training about sexual harassment and abuse for school staff. The training content must entail a clear explanation of inappropriate conduct, activities that should be avoided, and the outcomes of making wrong decisions ( Ratliff & Watson, 2014). Complaint procedures should highlight the reporting responsibility, recognize the role of different people, and ensure that students, parents, and staff can report anonymously ( Ratliff & Watson, 2014) .
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Conclusion
Research demonstrates an increasing prevalence of female teacher sex offenders. Issues such as underreporting, nevertheless, hinder the depiction of a real picture of the topic. Female offenders demonstrate features such as lack of aggressiveness, force, or threats in offenses. Female offenders also have a planned approach in which they use different grooming techniques to target their victims. Several measures, such as the development and implementation of policies, can be used to prevent sexual misconduct involving teachers.
References
Flora, R., Duehl, J. T., Fisher, W., Halsey, S., Keohane, M., Maberry, B. L., ... & Parson, L. C. (2014). Sex-Offender Therapy: A" How-To" Workbook for Therapists Treating Sexually Aggressive Adults, Adolescents, and Children . Routledge.
Knoll, J. (2010). Teacher sexual misconduct: Grooming Patterns and Female Offenders. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse , 19 (4), 371-386.
Ratliff, L., & Watson, J. (2014). A Descriptive Analysis of Public-School Educators Arrested for Sex Offenses. Journal of child sexual abuse , 23 (2), 217-228
Solis, O. L., & Benedek, E. P. (2012). Female Sexual Offenders in the Educational System: A Brief Overview. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic , 76 (2), 172-188.
Ten Bensel, T., Gibbs, B., & Burkey, C. R. (2016). Female Sex Offenders: Is There a Difference between Solo and Co-offenders?. Journal of interpersonal violence , 0886260516674202
