Health Services Research Centre, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington

This report presents the results of a New Zealand study to explore teachers' experiences with and views on inappropriate and abusive sexual behaviour among Year 7 and 8 students (about 11 and 12 years of age). Data was collected through a survey of teachers in the Wellington region in 2007 (response rate 49%). Most of the 143 respondents were women (71%); over 30 years of age (87%); and nearly half had taught for over 10 years. Responses came from teachers in a range of school types: 69 teachers were currently at full primary schools and 67 at intermediate schools. The survey results showed respondents had encountered a variety of challenging behaviours amongst their students. Sexually inappropriate, or other disturbing behaviours that might be indicators of sexual abuse were encountered much less frequently. A quarter of the respondents had seen sexualised behaviour by their students that was so inappropriate that they considered it 'disturbing.' Teachers who had managed 'disturbing' sexualised behaviours were generally happy with the support they had from senior staff in the school. In relation to students' use of technology and media, the respondents' main concerns were: students accessing harmful material such as pornography; bullying on social networking sites and email; vulnerability to paedophiles and unsupervised internet use at home. The authors conclude that outside agencies such as WellStop may need to take a supporting role with schools. Agencies working co-operatively with schools are likely to achieve the best results for students and teachers, as teachers will still need to manage students of concern during the school day.

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