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Columnist Sees Inconsistency in Punishment of Male and Female Sex Offenders

by Jim Brown
August 8, 2005

(AgapePress) - Lack of public outrage over the latest string of sex-abuse cases involving female teachers and young male students leads one columnist to believe female offenders are treated much more leniently than their male counterparts.

A 42-year-old female Catholic school teacher from Albany, New York, was recently charged with two felony counts of third-degree rape involving a 16-year-old, and is accused of having sex with teenage boys after plying them with alcohol on a school trip. And in Miami, a middle-school teacher will stand trial after allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old male student numerous times. Similar cases have arisen recently in Tennessee, Texas, and California.

Columnist Glenn Sacks believes there is a double-standard is the way that society treats males perps and female perps in sex-abuse case.

"With a 42-year-old male teacher who had sex with a bunch of different 16- and 17-year-old girls, that guy would go away for a long, long time," he posits. "There would be no sympathy for him. You wouldn't have people saying that he's a father of four [or asking] should he really face jail time, as one paper said."

But it is different, he says -- or so society implies -- when the perpetrator is a woman. Sacks says the behavior of female sex offenders is judged more charitably than that of their male counterparts.

"So a man does this and he's seen as a creep, an exploiter of young women, a pervert," he notes. "[But] a woman does that, she's seen as an oddball but not really condemned in the same way. Sometimes she's seen as an oddball who's giving boys the time of their lives, like she's actually a good person -- and you sometimes see some of that."

As an example, Sacks notes that on the popular ABC evening soap Desperate Housewives, one of the female stars has on ongoing sexual relationship with an underage boy from the neighborhood. Modern culture, he suggests, has given women permission to do what they please in situations where men are not given that permission.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.

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(My Note:  It's a sick and perverted world we live in, and it's getting worse by the minute.)

Am in agreement with your NOTE, BEP.

Anyone have any ideas on what's causing all of this stuff?  I know it's evil.  Women's lib?  Birth control?  I think it's a combo.  For sure, there's a lack of respect for the freedoms we have in America.  Too bad women have to and want to work outside the home.  I think this is another part of it.  Don't hit me over the head for saying this!

Many of these women that are doing this are in a teacher status. Woman have been school teachers for hundreds of years. So in this aspect I don't think that has anything in particular to do with it.

If a person keeps getting away with things they become emboldened and will go even further because "I can get away with what I want" type attitude. This can be seen in the youth of America of today. They are taught to despise the authority of police officers, judges, school teachers, parents....  They are given a slap on the hand and let go home. When at home they get a round of applause and a special status with their peers and the situation in the home itself does not change. They are allowed to continue the life they had all along.

These children then become adults and continue acting as they did when they were younger.

I had one woman tell me "Why not, I was treated like this so why can't I treat young boys the same way? I have more control over boys than I do grown men."

Actually, I think the reasons have changed for one becoming a teacher.  I think it's what some do when they don't know what else to do.  Seems to me, years ago, those who became teachers really were dedicated to teaching.  Don't think that's the case today.

There's no guarantee if a mom stays home her children will turn out perfectly.  It's an attitude, and of course, fathers play a very important part in this attitude, too.  If I remember correctly, I think I read an article sometime back that there's a trend in women wanting to stay home and raise their children.  If that's true, I'm glad.  The problem is, there's less money to go around and the kids can't have it all.  That causes peer problems sometimes.  I vote for a "stay at home" state where everybody lives on less. ;) ;D   Problem solved.  :-X

Brothers and Sisters,

I've had many thoughts over the years about what is responsible for the erosion and massive decline of morals in our society. There would have been a time that I would have said too many Christians  remain silent and take no stands on right and wrong. I would also talk about the ACLU and other organizations who seem intent on destroying everything this country stands for.

Now, I'm actually thinking this is a preview of the end of this age. I still think that Christians should stand up and speak up to the end REGARDLESS. If we are seeing a beginning of Bible prophecies being fulfilled, we obviously won't be able to stop it or slow it by a single second. However, we should never use an excuse like this for letting the devil have free roam while we are still here.

Love In Christ,
Tom

2 Timothy 3:14-17 ASV  But abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.  And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.  That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

Amen!!

Men (or in this case, boys) are viewed differently when in comes to rape. Because it doesn't hurt when boys are raped by women, society views it as harmless, even going as far as to imply these kids are 'lucky' to have their desires fulfilled.

There's an outrageous double standard applied to men and women that is degrading to both. If a woman kills a man, people ask what did he do to her; if a man kills a woman, he's a monster. If a woman aborts her child, she's practices her 'rights'; but if a man abandons his child, he's a dead beat. If a woman kills her child, she must be depressed or mentally disturbed but can not evil.

We have reduced the roles of women in our society to overgrown children who cannot take responsibility for our actions because we're women. How is that better than before the Suferage movement? There are good points made by classical feminism, but this Third Wave crap is sexist to men and offensive to women.