Lonely teacher in Israel was fired for sexually exploiting teen boys, prosecution found no criminal guilt
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Lonely teacher in Israel was fired for sexually exploiting teen boys, prosecution found no criminal guilt")
Representational Image of an empty classroom Photograph: (AFP)
A 43-year-old teacher in Petah Tikva, Israel, fired for sexual activity with two 17-year-old students, was banned from teaching for eight years. Claiming it was a "one-time thing" due to loneliness, the scandal sparks debate on consent and male victim trauma
A 43-year-old female English teacher from Petah Tikva, in Israel, was fired for engaging in sexual activity with two 17-year-old students, while another one was watching. She was convicted by civil-services commissions, which said that her actions “radically exceeded the basic professional boundaries required of a teacher in her position.” The teacher who was not named will not be able to work with the ministry again, forbidden from working with children and youth for eight years, and is also banned from working with the state for three years.
The teacher speaking to the Israeli media Channel 12 apologised for the incident, said it was a “one-time thing” and she did not want to harm her family. The teacher said she was lonely because her husband was on reserve duty. The Time of Israel said that the investigation opened months ago but was closed due to a lack of criminal guilt. The teacher's lawyer said that the court “understood pretty quickly that the actions were done with consent and that she was not their direct teacher.”
Yael Tal-Po’a, head of the education division in the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel, said, “There could not have been free consent in this relationship by its nature. It’s clear to all of us that if this had been a male teacher and female students, it would have been perceived differently.”
The students said that the teacher used to smoke with them. “She flirted with us. We would smoke with her during recess. We felt like she was our friend,” said one of the students who was involved. Then she invited them to their home. “I don’t know a student our age who wouldn’t have s*x with a teacher who looks like that and who initiated the relationship,” said the student.
“The denial of abuse of male students normalises their assault. Even if the vulnerability is different among boys and girls, the lack of social recognition of boys’ abuse exaggerates the trauma and leads to underreporting, "said Yael Tal-Po’a.
In Israel, the age of consent is 16; it can be as low as 14 if the age gap between the partners is three years or less. The parents of one of the students said that she was not the teacher of their son, so they did not know her. The relationship between the teacher and student was reportedly well known to everyone at the school.
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