To think male nursery workers should be banned for safety reasons?

This

The David Finkelhor book was in 1988. The US was reeling from the fake Satanic Panic McMartin nursery cases, so they may have been more inclined to brush off the issue. But clearly it was serious back then.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nursery-Crimes-Sexual-Abuse-Care/dp/0803934009

This was in 1993. It's been known for a long, long time.

Most recent data comes from the United States. One of the world's most respected researchers, David Finkelhor, reports in his book Nursery Crimes that 60 per cent of the perpetrators of sexual abuse in day care were men, even though males represented only 1-10 per cent of the staff there. The researchers expressed surprise that 'men, who constitute a small proportion of day-care workers, should commit such a disproportionate amount of abuse'. Similar findings have been produced in virtually all fields of child welfare.

If men had been banned then, how many children could have been kept safe from nursery CSA?

This article in 1993 from the Independent had an interesting letter section. I quote 3:

Should men work with children?: We asked for your views, following the nursery abuse case
Sunday 09 May 1993 00:02 BST

I WORKED as a therapist with women who had been sexually abused as children. I
would suggest that all men who seek careers in nursery education should be regarded with the deepest suspicion. It is a most unusual career for a young man to choose, and the motivation of each male applicant should be thoroughly investigated and his personal, medical and psychiatric history researched in depth. I am much more interested in the safety and well-being of children under five than I am in promoting equal opportunities for men in the field of nursery education.

Margaret Taylor

Bromley, Kent

THE DATA which is available on sexual abuse by welfare professionals clearly indicates that the question raised by Angela Neustatter has to be taken very seriously indeed.

Most recent data comes from the United States. One of the world's most respected researchers, David Finkelhor, reports in his book Nursery Crimes that 60 per cent of the perpetrators of sexual abuse in day care were men, even though males represented only 1-10 per cent of the staff there. The researchers expressed surprise that 'men, who constitute a small proportion of day-care workers, should commit such a disproportionate amount of abuse'. Similar findings have been produced in virtually all fields of child welfare.

Of course, many male welfare carers do not abuse. The problem is that it seems from the evidence that the risk of male carers abusing may be much greater than that for females, and we do not seem to be able to distinguish those who will abuse from those who will not. Given, then, that men appear to account for a massive proportion of sexual abuse in welfare settings, why is so little consideration given to the option of restricting their role?

At the end of the day we are talking about balancing 'rights' against one another. In the light of the evidence, which 'right' is more important: that of men to work in the professions of their choice; or that of children not to be sexually abused?

Keith Pringle

Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Studies, University of Sunderland

MICHELE Elliott of Kidscape believes that if men are prevented from working with children then it is a 'sacrifice that has to be made'.
IN response to your article on whether men should work with children, I would like to say what it is like from the abuser's point of view.

I was abused throughout my school years, from the age of seven, by house staff, teachers, cleaners, older boys, the school doctor and matron.

I left school and found that I loved working with younger children. It was easy getting a job: you didn't have to say anything about your past, or how you would deal with naughty children. I thought that some sexual abuse was wrong, but it wasn't talked about. I abused boys into my twenties: by fantasy, using their images to fulfil my needs - a form of abuse; and by 'playfighting' in the swimming pool or while watching television with them.
I believe very strongly that all jobs where young children are involved should have a written test on how one deals with their problems, such as crying and wetting themselves. Men must be asked about their past, and police records must be made available
Gracewell Clinic for Sex Offenders did not work for me: I soon found myself back working with children and abusing them again. I am now in prison, about to start a programme to help control my sexual urges towards children.
Helping victims is very important, but helping abusers not to abuse more children when they leave prison is also important. That must come from society - by having better policies on recruiting men into childcare, and by pushing the Government to provide help and advice to both abused and abuser, 24 hours a day if necessary.

Name and address withheld

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/should-men-work-with-children-we-asked-for-your-views-following-the-nursery-abuse-case-2321851.html

Because most sexual abuse in nurseries is committed by men, and paedophiles are disproportionately likely to volunteer for that job. Ban men, sexual abuse in nurseries will be drastically reduced.