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

[Carla786]

I KNOW most men who work in them are fine but sexual abuse in nurseries is overwhelmingly committed by men. No more men, much less abuse risk.
Yes we need more CCTV etc to watch bad women but it cuts SA risk immeasurably.

We can still have male primary teachers etc kids are old enough to speak up then.

And yes, you can ban on the basis of sex for safety reasons. In women's refuges, eg.

YANBU.

I know women very occasionally offend too but someone has to
work in these settings. It’s about minimising risk as much as possible.

And eliminate positive male role models from the lives of a large number of under 5s?

Myself and DH agree. And he was a SAHD.

Do we know what proportion of men offend?

Exactly! We know from investigations that paedophiles know nurseries want men & deliberately are putting themselves forward.

Most offenders are men. No more men, much less SA.

Why can the parents not use male friends or family members? We must recruit more men to primary school teaching, I agree.

Do we bar male care workers?

Male friends and family members are way more likely to abuse children.

I understand the point, but I went to nursery and remember the male nursery workers as my favourites and my children also had wonderful male nursery workers. I also think it’s important especially for my sons to see men in caring roles. So it’s a no from me.

No what we need is for nurseries to be having much more robust safeguarding procedures than must be present in nurseries where these incidents take place.

NOBODY should be changing a baby out of sight of other staff members. Any staff member shouting at belittling a child like was reported in this case should be reported and action taken immediately.

Proper safeguarding (and whistleblowing) policies should mean these things can happen. The men involved are evil but there are also other issues in the staffing of nurseries where these things happen.

There's do many cases of care workers sexually abusing vulnerable elderly. I think there is a strong case for that actually, especially for people with dementia.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/its-massive-scandal-just-waiting-break

'The problem of men using care careers in order to access and rape vulnerable women is so widespread that the Westminster government recognises it specifically in sexual offences legislation. '

But you don't have to leave them alone with them as you do in nurseries, or do intimate care.

They are more likely due to access. Nursery people have access too, arguably more

Men can be in caring roles like nursing or primary school teaching.

Is the nursery issue specifically worth the children who will likely be abused if men are not banned?

I agree but until that changes a man ban wil cut sexual abuse, at least, very significantly.

It seems like this is something we need to consider, yes

If we bar men from care work then men have to be cared for by women. They might not actually want that.

Better safeguarding is the key. And we don't have the luxury of being able to exclude people from caring anyway because so few people want to do it.

I also think that if you banned men from nursery then they wouldn't want to teach in primary schools either.

And what do you do with childminders who live with men?

It seems like in the last few months there's been several terrible situations with male workers SAing kids. At this point I wouldn't use a setting for non verbal kids with male staff. And I'd want CCTV in every single area except inside the adult toilet cubicles.

I'm not sure if sex discrimination law would allow a blanket ban on males in early years settings though. I suppose they can say refuges can only have women, breast screening is always done by women. So why not say for this as well?

It's a shame for all the decent men who work in the sector though. Would they just be sacked? Made redundant? It feels like if they've done nothing wrong and they're already working there they should be compensated for loss of career.

If we bar men from care work then men have to be cared for by women. They might not actually want that.

A lot of men prefer to be cared for by women, actually.

Maybe you could allow men to care only for men. Otoh as you say many do want women. And many elderly men are sexually abused by male care workers too, often ones who have dementia so can't really speak up

This was the story that got me thinking, there have been several others too. TRIGGER WARNING :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crl4np670llo

More crucial info :

While it is an uncomfortable fact to confront, research shows men with a sexual interest in children are disproportionately more likely to work with children, including in early education and care. Data shows that one in 20 men in the Australian community are motivated offenders (individuals who reported both sexual interest in and offending against children). However, they are almost three times more likely to work with children compared with other men.

Those who deliberately pursue employment with children to abuse them are often referred to as “professional perpetrators”. These individuals typically have multiple victims and pose a high risk of repeated

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/04/childcare-centres-must-put-child-protection-above-profits-and-fears-of-appearing-biased-against-men

100% agree. And I'd make sure it includes anyone born male

Let's ban leaving dads, grandads and uncles being alone with children. Many more of them sexually abuse than nursery workers. Let's keep all the women either in the home or in minimum wage caring jobs in case a man takes advantage.

One Australia provider has banned men from intimate care

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=thesector.com.au/2025/07/07/childcare-provider-restricts-male-educators-from-intimate-care-duties-amid-safety-concerns&ved=2ahUKEwi_7au9mNeSAxWEUEEAHcsABf4QFnoECDQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0-VoJ6-bp3eeqISEIBbwTg