Boys 'less likely to be believed'

Women can get away with abusing young boys because their claims are not taken seriously, a teachers' leader warned today.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, spoke out following the acquittal of Amy Gehring, while charities called for more to be done to stop the sexual abuse of vulnerable children.

Mr Hart said: "One of the issues this case has thrown up is whether boys are more or less likely to be believed than girls. But the key thing is that parents are entitled to expect that their children are not subjected whilst at school to inappropriate behaviour of any kind from teachers."

Teachers of either sex who cross the line in relations with their pupils can rightly expect disciplinary action by school authorities, whether they are convicted of a criminal offence or not, he said.

"It will be important after this case for heads to remind their staff that although the vast majority would never dream of sexually assaulting their pupils, they are vulnerable to these allegations. They have to be whiter than white and certainly drinking and going to parties with pupils of any age should be out of bounds."

National child protection advisor for the children's charity NCH, Marcia Whitehall-Smith, said: "There is a lot more about sexual abuse by females that has to come out. It is an unexplored area. In my experience I've almost heard people ask whether or not boys can be sexually abused by women because once boys get to a certain age it is every boy's dream to have something like that happen to them. It is a view embedded in society.

"To have sex with a woman may be a boy's fantasy but the reality is quite different. Even from some of the young children we have dealt with, they will talk with regret about sexual relations with a person in a position of trust, whether it be a teacher, scout master or anyone else, and it may skew their relationships when they get older."

A spokeswoman for Childline said of all the calls it receives related to sexual abuse, five per cent concern alleged acts by teachers.