Shauna was embarrassed when she realised she wasn’t the only girl to be abused by her teacher
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Participants have given us permission to share their experiences.
Shauna was 14 when a teacher at her secondary school started grooming her.
As soon as she turned 16, he began having sex with her.
Shauna says she had a happy childhood; she enjoyed primary school and got on well with her friends.
But she says, ‘life changed dramatically’ for her at senior school. When she was 14, one of her teachers, Callum, began paying her a lot of attention. He would send her text messages and offer her extra tuition. She says she had an idea he was doing the same thing to other girls.
Shauna and other girls would often see Callum during breaks and ‘hang around’ the classroom with him. She says she now wonders why no other teachers or staff ever asked Callum about his behaviour with a group of young teenage girls.
When Shauna turned 16, Callum began arranging to meet her outside school at evenings and weekends. He would pick Shauna up in his car away from her parents’ house and drive her to remote places and other locations, including a hotel. Kissing, touching and penetrative sex took place on a number of occasions.
Shauna says ‘I knew it shouldn't be happening – I blamed myself’.
She doesn’t remember how the abuse ended, but she does recall feeling embarrassed when she heard rumours at school that Callum was having sex with another girl, and she realised ‘it wasn't just me’.
The last time Shauna saw Callum was on her final day at school. She ignored him when he tried to make contact after she left school.
Shauna says she often felt disgusted and ashamed with herself afterwards. She feels she developed a poor reputation among her peers because of her behaviour. She has self-harmed and abused alcohol. She believes that in an attempt to be needed and liked, she often ended up in sexual relationships that were meaningless, secretive and unhealthy.
She emphasises the importance of educating children about sex and inappropriate relationships, and training teachers to spot grooming behaviours and question relationships that seem to be crossing boundaries.
She says ‘In school someone should have noticed girls hanging out with a male teacher in free periods … no one asked questions’.
Shauna recently decided to report Callum to the police and an investigation is proceeding. She feels guilty that she did not report him earlier, as she thinks this could have protected other girls.
She says that now she has reported him, and is having counselling, she has begun to feel much better about herself. She has a very supportive partner who has helped her to find the courage to speak out about the abuse by her teacher.