Ban male nursery workers?

[BluntPlumHam]

I came across this article which has left me quite sick.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cze665j2y51o.amp

Said 18 year old was newly qualified nursery worker who’d SA’d and raped 3 year olds.

Nurseries are desperate for workers and I have noticed through friends and families that there is now an increasing number of men entering the profession.

Men traditionally haven’t performed this role and I often find it difficult to envisage what attracts a male to this profession to begin with when we have so many instances of men who run away from childcare responsibilities.

Although men entering the profession can be a positive outcome the other very concerning outcome and on the potential rise is this.

Sex offenders will target this profession no doubt as it gives them easy access to children.

men are significantly more likely than women to sexually assault children.
Official statistics consistently show that the vast majority of individuals convicted of, or reported for, child sexual abuse (CSA) are male. For example:

• In the year ending March 2019, the Crime Survey for England and Wales found that 92% of adults who reported experiencing CSA said the perpetrator was male only.
• In 2022/23, almost 99% of individuals convicted of child sexual abuse offences in the UK were men.
• Reports to the Australian Royal Commission by victims and survivors of institutional abuse revealed that 93.9% of the abuse was perpetrated by an adult man.

So just a blanket ban on them all together ?

It isn’t my personal opinion but I do think we ought to have measures in place to make nurseries more secure and safer. This thread is to invite discussion.

Also, kudos to those brave little 3 year olds who had the courage to tell their parents because they’ve saved a lot of potential victims in the future. My thoughts and wishes for a life time of healing for them and theirs.

I don't think you will find many parents of either sex actively preferring their child's nappy to be changed by a man, regardless of the sex of the child. Because this isn't about same sex care for privacy and dignity, its about which sex carer is more likely not to SA their baby.

Why on earth would anyone have a preference for a male carer for either sex of child? Boys are also far more likely to be abused by men than women.

It’s so tedious isn’t it? So many people are too stupid to comprehend basic statistics and probability.

Perfect safeguarding in the early childcare workplace would render all abuse impossible.

But perfect safeguarding is itself pretty much impossible, without unlimited resources. The best scenario we can hope for, realistically, is tight safeguarding policies with all-female workers.

Men who understand the situation and agree that child safety is the main priority, won't object to such exclusion, even if they are themselves particularly well suited to such work, which is not often, for various reasons.

The problem we face is convincing the powers-that-be that excluding men from this field is the right way to go.

No it's because men are almost as likely to rape little boys as they are little girls.

This. Any setting worth their salt should have appropriate stringent robust processes and practices that prevent anyone being in a position, particularly alone, to harm a child unchecked.

This will require a huge overhaul of how early years settings are designed, funded and staffed.
The government already wants to pay less than minimum.

Incorrect. The Equality Act 2010 allows for the use of Single-Sex Exemptions which are effectively sex discrimination. They are commonly used to allow jobs in rape crisis centres and domestic abuse refuges to be only open to women.

Nurseries could refuse to hire men by using this method.

Yes

If someone has a good reason not to ban male nursery workers, I'd love to hear it.

The one at my dd's nursery was absolutely brilliant, amazing with children and really helped with her development. He was definitely the right person for the job.

"Incorrect. The Equality Act 2010 allows for the use of Single-Sex Exemptions which are effectively sex discrimination. They are commonly used to allow jobs in rape crisis centres and domestic abuse refuges to be only open to women.
Nurseries could refuse to hire men by using this method."

As previously discussed in the thread such a move would likely not be seen to be proportionate and unlikely to survive a legal challenge in court....

It would be far more efficient to just ban men from the early years. I don’t think anyone’s given a good reason for them to be caring for any child this age.

The benefits of male teachers comes later on

How was he any different from a female worker? What did he provide that a woman couldn’t?

A male role model.

The fact there have been three different male sexual abuser nursery workers in the news just since November is shocking.

Exactly! All the nurseries I viewed had adults alone with children regularly, including nappy changes. I was lucky to be able to stay at home with my child until 3 when he went to an old fashioned pre school staffed only by women.

Such a nebulous concept for infants and toddlers especially when balanced against the risks.

I entirely disagree, this particular man was no risk otherwise I would not have left my daughter anywhere near. The nursery itself was fabulous and had plenty of staff around at all times. I'm sorry that your experiences are different but not all men are the same.

Not necessary at this age

Don't you think the parents of abused children thought the perpetrators were safe too?

Nobody on these threads is suggesting that all men are a danger or that no women can be. We're not even suggesting that some men cannot be great carers. We're looking at the overall risks/benefits of employing men to care for vulnerable babies and small children. I agree with you male role models are a benefit but am happy to wait for my children to be older for this.

How could you tell if he was a risk or not?

I made sure. He was no more a risk than the females.

I’d certainly to see a ban on them changing nappies, doing any intimate care, or taking children to the toilet. But I have to say that there was a brilliant young male employee at Gdcs’ nursery - he played the guitar and sang to them - and got them singing - the Gdcs (B and G) both loved him.

Are you suggesting the parents of abused children could have known that the men they trusted their children with were a risk if they'd "made sure"? Again, I don't think anyone leaves their child with someone they suspect is likely to abuse them.