Hi All,

I hope you are well.

This is my first post here. I discovered the site some time ago and have long thought that our society has gone paedohysterical and that genuine concern for children cannot explain many of its actions.

I thought some of you might be interested in a comment piece by Victoria Coren, Even now I'd not be confident enough to sleep with a teacher, published online at the Guardian's Comment is Free. It's from a few days ago. I don't believe its been posted. Apologies if it has.

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/se...-coren?commentpage=1

It treats the recent case of the jazz teacher sentenced to 18 months for being sexual with her 15 year old pupil, arguing that in general it is the more mature children who succeed in being sexual with teachers and it is perhaps the teachers who are the weaker and more vulnerable party.

Perhaps more interesting, though, are the comments. The journalist is accused of double standards. Some have asked how it would be if both the teacher and the target were male rather than female?

This case seems to present something of a dilemma for conventional paedohysteria and the variety of views expressed indicates that the public may be approaching a turning point.

One woman even suggests that only men can be classed as paedophiles because male sexual desire is unique in being predatory, aggressive and violent.

Best Wishes,
Jim

Thank you Jim, excellent article; I have posted a comment on CiF.

I have very mixed feelings about such cases; I do think positions of trust and authority should not be abused and it is easy to seduce someone in the position of student - and unfair.

I think the age of consent being 16 should apply to all, including teachers, but teacher/pupil relationships should be warned about in intelligent and informative language to both parties.

It's an interesting piece as are the reactions. The case raises all sorts of questions-the teacher is fantastically good looking and if she weren't a teacher it's an affair that could have gone on for years with no-one ever knowing.

I was interested in the parent's reaction which bordered on hysteria...as though the girl's life was ruined forever. I thought their reaction was more likely to cause harm than the affair.

I agree with JK that there obviously must be boundaries as in say teachers and students..but that ignores human behaviour which will never let 'boundaries' stop affairs of the heart.

The problem is the media and politicians have ramped up 'pedo' hysteria to the point where every person under age involved with an older person becomes a 'pedophile' case and this is simply a blatant lie.

Pedophiles are attracted to pre-pubescent children and it's their innocence that turns them on...it's some horrible power trip and the community really needs to encourage those who are like this have access to treatment or therapy.

Until then...whilst authorities wrap everything up in one parcel and politicians play to a gormless public I put the blame squarely on them.

They are responsible for future victims because they act retroactively instead of in a preventative manner and take their marching orders from the tabloids. Megans (or is frigging Sarah's}Law is a perfect example of sheer garbage enacted by politicians who are too gutless to stand up to the media...and that's a media that profits of sordid sex tales and wouldn't exist without these cases.

It's lucky I'm not some cammander in a revolutionary army that's taken over a country..I think I'd be fairly ruthless in lining up politicians against the wall.

While I really do not think underage sex is morally right we really do need to be flexible and pragmatic about how we handle it.
In many countries 15 year olds are married and producing offspring.In terms of sheer world numbers our laws concerning age of consent are among the highest around.
You cannot legislate for desire and love,but we try to,and increasingly try to punish without reference to the situation.
All in all though she was wrong to abuse her trust,it was done on both parts with what seems like genuine affection,even love.It was good enough for Juliet,even the prophet Mohamed,even Victorian legal society could not have convicted her under its laws,why do we seem better able to condemn than others more worthy?