Maneuvering suspicions of being a potential pedophile: experiences of male ECEC-workers in Sweden

ABSTRACT

Previous research has described a discourse where men working within Early Childhood Education and Care are viewed as potential pedophiles. The aim of this study is to describe and analyze how men, working in Swedish preschools, position themselves in relation to this pedophile discourse. Twenty-five men were interviewed about their work-experiences and the result shows two dominating positions: (1) giving up or (2) maneuvering the pedophile discourse. The discourse is maneuvered by: avoiding certain tasks, do the tasks but in ways that minimize suspicion or do the tasks without acknowledging the personal risk, as the tasks are required in their professional role. Thereby, men do not have the same ability to develop professionalism in childcare as women. However, by overcoming the fear of the pedophile discourse, these men create ‘new discourses’, where men can be viewed as caregivers. The result highlights an overall question, of what a professional approach is when it comes to care for children in ECEC.

KEYWORDS:

• Early childhood education and care (ECEC)
• men in preschool
• childcare professional
• fear of paedophilia
• interviews

Introduction and aim

In 2013, the Swedish government gave the National Agency for Education an assignment to work to increase the number and proportion of men working in preschool (Ministry of Education 2013, 1). One assignment was to interview 25 men who work or have been working in a preschool in order to document their work-experiences. A summary of the interviews was presented at four national conferences in 2014, where the discussion groups identified a lack of knowledge to retain and recruit men into Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC):

Pedagogues, researchers, preschool directors, students, and development managers all agree. The largest barrier to get more men to work within ECEC, and to keep them, is the ever-present threat of being suspect of pedophilia. (National Agency for Education 2014, 19)

Based on this identified threat, and previous research, we assume that there is a discourse that men working within ECEC are viewed as potential pedophiles. The aim of this study is to describe and analyze how the interviewed men position themselves in relation to this pedophile discourse, and discuss its importance for the care of children in preschools and men working in ECEC.

Previous research: suspicion towards male childcare personnel

Previous research deals with a general suspicion of men within ECEC and suspicion's effects on preschools as institutions. The risk of men being accused of child sexual abuse (CSA) when they provide care to children challenges their professional position in their work, which includes helping children in intimate situations, such as diaper change, nap-time, comforting and dressing. Working professionally with children includes physical contact. Children need comfort, to sit on someone’s knee, have their diaper changed, etc. One of the main reasons men considers leaving the profession is because of the risk of false allegations related to these activities (Anliak and Beyazkurk 2008). It has long been known that nurturing and warm care (attachment) is a predictor of well-being and health (e.g. Bowlby 1969; Sroufe 2005). Self-regulation and brain maturation are facilitated by affective attachment (Schore and Schore 2008, 9), and confident and safe physical contact is assumed to be good for children's well-being (Burke and Dunkan 2016). However, a study by Brody (2015, 354) interviewed men in six countries and concludes that there is a difference in the view of what is good for children depending on who gives the physical contact, for example, parents or professionals, women or men. Brody argues that actions with physical contact are seen as natural when given by women. Men in ECEC are however expected to be male role models, often as a complement to the absence of a father. In the role of a male role model, Brody shows that physical contact is not obviously seen as natural or good. Rather, men who engage in traditionally feminine professions, with physical contact and care to children, expose themselves to the risk of being suspected as pedophiles. Male care is thereby located in the tension between having physical contact with children in care situations and a potential accusation of CSA (Owen and Gillentine 2011; Piper and Smith 2003).

The men in Brody’s study described how they handled the potential risk of false accusations and that those who had been working for some years were more cautious when they were younger. This suggests that uncertainty is greater at the beginning of a professional career (where many of the men in ECEC drop out and change career). Brody says that men who have worked for a long time expressed that they practiced their profession in the way best suited to the needs of children, rather than allowing themselves to be limited because of fears of false allegations or suspicions of pedophilia. The men in the study explained that they took a stance that, despite personal risks, physical closeness to children is a central part of their professional duties (Brody 2015). Peeters, Rohrmann, and Emilsen (2015, 310) highlights that these risks are obstacles for men to work in ECEC, and that this circumstances need more attention. Since men are a clear minority in feminine-coded professions, they argue for a need to create a ‘male-friendly culture’ in the ECEC teacher training and profession. Rohrmann and Brody (2015) also ask for more research on how structures in the ECEC allow for or make difficult men’s decision to work there.

Men engaged in ECEC may sometimes want to eliminate or challenge gender stereotypes, but instead of doing so, they often have the potential to reinforce the same. One reason is because CSA and pedophilia are strongly associated with men. Men thereby have to position themselves and relate to the risk of being accused of CSA in ways that women do not. This is due to a greater statistical risk to children being abused by men (Kjellgren et al. 2011). Since the assumption for most people is that women do not commit CSA, they are considered as safe, while men are seen as potentially dangerous. The safest way for men to avoid the risk of being seen as a potential pedophile is thereby to avoid work that involves the care of children or to take traditionally masculine positions within this line of work (Willett 2008), such as those where physical contact is excluded.

Being ‘non-suspects’ is thus an important part of everyday practice for men to appear as good and safe employees within the ECEC (Nentwich et al. 2013). According to Munk, Larsen, and Leander (2013, 29) men more often express that they fear the risk of accusation when CSA comes up in the media or discussions, while women more often express that they become more suspicious. At the same time, women have a tendency to pity their male colleagues when concerns about CSA emerge, and they sometimes try to protect them by taking over some of the duties that are seen as potentially hazardous. This ‘protection’, however, while it may protect the men from suspicions of abuse, also undermines their professionalism, as it will be difficult to develop a professional approach by avoiding certain key moments in the profession. Fear of suspicion thereby risks increasing the distance between men and children (Munk, Larsen, and Leander 2013, 19). The risk of increasing the distance to children in times where the fear of CSA is prevalent applies to all who work in preschools, but especially for men as they are, more often than women, suspiciously observed in their work with children, and this is when their actions are more likely to be misinterpreted (Cushman 2009; Piper and Stronach 2009; Sargent 2005).

Burke and Dunkan (2016) discuss the ways in which children’s bodies are regulated according to cultural constructs in the early childhood context. They argue that the child’s body has become a site for anxiety and fear in western contexts:

For New Zealand teachers, the ‘pervert lurking in the cracks’ is an omnipresent phantom which prevents the kind of sensory and physical interactions between teacher and child that were common in early childhood settings 20 or 30 years earlier. (13)

Children’s bodies are thus increasingly subject to surveillance and regulation. Furthermore, the bodies of children have become more exposed through measures such as removing doors and installing mirrors (Burke and Dunkan 2016).

Altogether, previous research shows a risk for men who provide care to children in ECEC that includes physical contact, as the pedophile discourse points them out as potential perpetrators. Care is at the same time seen as important for children’s well-being, and physical contact in a diaper change, nap-time, comforting and dressing is seen as necessary to professional work in ECEC. In this study, we describe the nuances of men’s positions in relation to this pedophile discourse. It will thereby be possible to more deeply understand the positions where fear does not become an obstacle for men in their professional care of children, as well as men's prerequisites for working within ECEC.

Methodology

The theoretical assumption in this study is that there is a discourse that men working in ECEC are potential pedophiles. Discourse is seen as a producer of power. Power is understood as relational and dynamic. Language and social relations are understood as both effects and producers of discourse (Foucault 1994, 2014). The analysis of the interviews is framed from an understanding of positions as constructed in relation to discourse, which appear both in the speak of the profession and in the everyday practice (Wetherell and Potter 1992). We assume that men who work in ECEC have a specific experience that differs from that of women. It does not mean that everyone's experiences are similar, but that men are positioned, and position themselves, specifically in relation to this pedophile discourse.

The 25 men who were interviewed were between 23 and 57 years, with experience ranging from temporary employment to having devoted most of their career to ECEC. They came from big cities, medium-sized municipalities and tiny populated areas and worked in both public and privately run preschools. They were either certified preschool teachers and childcare assistants or lacked relevant training for the profession. Twenty-one of the men worked in preschool when they were interviewed and four had worked there but had at the time of the interview changed profession.

The interviews are regarded as narratives, and the thematic analysis (Riessman 2008) focuses on the parts of men’s narratives that regard their own, or male colleagues’, concerns and experiences of being suspected of, or reported for, CSA or pedophilia, and their reasoning concerning what it meant for them, the children and their professional practice.

The interviews lasted an average of 30 minutes and were carried out both individually (7 interviews) and in groups (6 interviews, with 2–4 participants). The interviews were divided into the following areas: (1) The way to the profession, (2) the experience of working in ECEC and (3) the experience of quitting work as a preschool teacher.

Ethics

The study has followed Swedish Research Council (2011) demands for information, informed consent, confidentiality and archiving of data. The quotes are translated from Swedish to English and, in some cases, linguistically corrected and shortened to describe longer reasoning. All details that could identify people or places are left out. Before the interviews were conducted, all respondents signed an informed consent where the aim of the study was described, and where they gave permission for interviews to be analyzed for research, based on the agreement that they at any time, without reason, can cancel their participation. The interviews were based on an interview guide where the respondents themselves were to control what, and in what order, they wanted to take up the different areas. The interviews have been conducted outside the workplace in secluded rooms without distractions, and in three cases as telephone interviews.

Analysis procedure

The men in this study were asked about their career in ECEC and experiences of their profession. Although they were not asked specific questions about suspicions or concerns of CSA, or being seen as a potential pedophile, they did on their own initiative discuss this. The first step in the analysis was to make an overall reading and identify which topics were discussed. Step two was to make a selection and focus on the parts dealing with suspicions and pedophilia. Step three was to make an additional coding and identify which positions became visible in the material specifically concerned with the focused parts. Finally, the results are discussed in relation to previous research.

In the interviews, different phases and approaches, in relation to the pedophile discourse, appears. Two different positions, surrender or resistance, permeate the interviews. The former means to quit the work in ECEC (Anliak and Beyazkurk 2008). The latter involves different ways and strategies to continue in the profession and, to varying degrees, carry through certain tasks that are considered important, where making ‘non-suspects’ is an important part of everyday practice (Nentwich et al. 2013). At an overall level, a collective story of professional and personal development emerges among the men, where maneuvering and resisting the pedophile discourse is connected to a number of years in the profession.

Results

According to the men in this study, there is a risk when performing certain tasks that are considered important for being professional in work with children. This brings the men difficult choices, where they describe the different positions used to handle the risk of being seen as potential pedophiles. The following sections describe various positions expressed in the interviews.

Avoiding work tasks

As in Brody (2015), the interviewed men describe their profession as including physical contact with children. This physical contact is described as a personal risk in relation to the pedophile discourse, which leads to conflicts with what is perceived as professional. Different phases and approaches appear in the interviews in this study, as shown in the following excerpt, where they describe having to position themselves more actively to the pedophile discourse when they were new in the profession.

I remember the first time when I started to work in the preschool. I never changed diapers on children. Especially not on girls. I had read about some abuse, so I was really scared. There was nothing we agreed on in the team, I do not even know if anyone realized that I avoided it. I kept myself away from that sort of tasks in the first one and a half months, to really show that I do not touch the children in that way. That I was okay, so to speak.

Avoiding situations that are perceived as risky are, however, not only handled quietly and based on personal decisions. There are also examples of avoiding tasks based on colleagues’ requests.

My female colleagues said that I would not change diapers. They never said straight out why, but I had to accept it.

To be professional, and be able to do one’s job, is described as being able to perform all needed tasks for a job in ECEC. The interviewees said they were limited by the anxiety of being suspected as a pedophile. One man described how he avoided helping a child for this reason.

We had a girl who went balance around a climbing frame and got some splinters in her groin. The child was not so good at Swedish and I asked a female colleague to look at it. My colleague become angry with me and questioned me, but what the hell, you have to do your job! Take care of the girl, she wants you to help her. Then I felt very ambivalent, the child took me by my hand and showed clearly that she wanted me to help her. But the image of having a 5 year old girl on the changing table with her legs in the air, while I'm there … I felt that I have to look after myself first. I felt really bad about it afterwards, because she did chose me and wanted me to help her. I opted out such an important part of my job, just because I am a man.

In the example above, the man avoided a task, which for him created a conflict in relation to what he perceived as professional. In addition, he did not fulfill his female colleague’s expectations, whom he did not feel understood his concern in that situation. The pedophile discourse is described as becoming extra active when it concerns particular tasks, such as diaper changing and other forms of physical contact. The men describe having to position themselves in relation to the discourse in these situations by looking for safe ways to protect themselves against potential accusations of CSA. Avoiding perceived ‘dangerous moments’, or allowing female colleagues to substitute for their responsibilities, is furthermore described as something that undermines their professionalism. This is something they do not really want, since it increases their distance from the children in a framework where physical proximity is essential. This is addressed by Munk, Larsen, and Leander (2013), who explains that men, as a result of the fear of being accused of pedophilia, risk being unable to be as professional as their female colleagues.

In the collective story of professional and personal development, avoiding tasks is something that is related to an earlier phase of the men’s career. The stories highlight that avoiding a task brings security for the men, but also that they lack good conditions to develop a professional approach.

Minimizing and preventing suspicions as a professional strategy

Making oneself a ‘non-suspect’ is, consequently, an important part of everyday practice for male preschool teachers (Nentwich et al. 2013). In addition to avoiding certain situations and tasks, the men also described strategies to prevent suspicion of CSA to be viewed as a good, traditionally masculine (Willett 2008) and safe employee. They describe that this position is particularly important when the pedophile discourse is activated, for example, when abuse is reported in the media. The avoidance position is about an awareness of the risk of being regarded as a pedophile in ECEC work (Burke and Dunkan 2016) and acting upon it, since physical contact is seen as potentially abusive. The Prevent position is also about being aware of this risk. However, in this case, despite the risk, one carries out one’s tasks in risky moments, but in a safe way.

I have become more aware of the limits and am aware of how I act in potentially risky situations. For example how I place the children on my knee and how I give hugs. You have to be a little bit aware of what to do.

The Prevent position could also imply explaining certain situations to parents and colleagues, especially when changing diapers, but also in other situations when children are physically close.

I had a boy in my knee pointing and wondering what I've ‘got there’. I replied that I have a penis, just like you. What if he would tell at home that he sat in my lap and something about ‘penis’? Then it is extra important that I, preventively, inform the parents what we talked about during the day.

As previously noted, the expressed awareness of being seen as a potential pedophile limits them in relation to physical contact with children, where physical contact is described as natural, good and necessary for the children’s development (Burke and Dunkan 2016) and thereby also necessary for doing a professional job.

The potential risk can be understood as an obstacle for men to work in ECEC, something Peeters, Rohrmann, and Emilsen (2015, 310) highlight as an important area where more knowledge is needed. The men in this study, like in Nentwich et al. (2013), described that it is important for them to demonstrate to their surroundings that they are ‘okay’. This, according to Anliak and Beyazkurk (2008), not only makes it safer for the men, but is also a factor that is contributing to men leaving the profession. To always ‘think one step further’ was a frequent formulation for the men in this study when describing how to prevent suspicion about situations that may seem natural at the moment, but in retrospect seem to have the potential to produce a suspicion of CSA. This strategy, however, has the potential to create regulatory-practice, where physical contact is linked with potentially abusive behavior, regardless of the needs of children (Burke and Dunkan 2016).

In the collective story of professional and personal development, physical contact and care is seen as natural (see also Munk, Larsen, and Leander 2013, 19), which makes it important to have strategies to be able to be professional, despite the risk of being seen as a potential pedophile. The challenge is described as minimizing suspicion while at the same time carrying out all the tasks they express are an essential part of the work with children.

Maneuvering around the fear of being viewed as a potential pedophile

In addition to the avoiding and preventing positions, the men in this study also talked about overcoming the fear of being suspected as a pedophile. They described that the ability to overcome will make the pedophile discourse less regulating and something they easier can ignore, which thereby allows them to practice their profession the best suited way. As in Brody (2015), it was men who had been working in ECEC for a long time who commonly expressed this position. The position provides men the possibility to be professional without limits, included physical contact to children. They are thereby taking a stance despite personal risks. The overcoming of the fear of the pedophile discourse is possible if there is trust from the surrounding community. However, when the media reports about abuse, this ‘trust’ can again be challenged, but it can become less frightening after several years of work.

At one time there was much in the media about pedophiles in preschool. But I had worked for so long then. Almost 10–15 years. So it didn’t mean so much for me.

When CSA is reported in the media and a public debate of men’s presence in ECEC is active, trustful relations with parents, colleagues and managers is described as something that makes it possible to overcome the fear of the pedophile discourse.

When pedophile debates come up, I feel confident in my role among parents and children. I know that they trust me. There has never been a parent who confronted me, and therefore I have been able to ignore it.

It then becomes possible to provide care on a premise similar to that of their female colleagues (Brody 2015; Cameron 2001). As described in Owen and Gillentine (2011) and Piper and Smith (2003), the trust from parents, children, colleagues and management in the workplace was described as important to their ability to give care and have physical contact with children without fearing accusations of CSA.

The stories describe positions where men overcome their worries, but they also reveal that these worries can re-emerge in times of increased attention regarding CSA. Overcoming worries is described as a professional position, where personal risks are disregarded in order to be able to do a professional work. Common to these stories is that these men did not have personal experience of being reported for CSA. This means that, although the worries may feel real, they can explain it as something that does not concern them directly. However, if they, or any close male colleagues, have been reported for CSA, this makes it more difficult to overcome the fear of the pedophile discourse.

Innocently accused: when the fear of being reported for CSA becomes real

Most men in this study had no personal experience of being reported for CSA. Previous studies (e.g. Anliak and Beyazkurk 2008) describe a general fear of false allegations among men in ECEC, which the men in this study also expressed. Although several of the men described they had overcome the fear of the pedophile discourse, they all stated they have to position themselves to this discourse, especially when CSA is debated in the media or in specific situations.

The hardest thing is when this pedophile stories come up, now and then in the media, and you have close intimacy with children, e.g. changing diapers or being close to them. In these periods, it has been tough. I have, without ever have been spoken outwardly about it, felt suspected without there having been any cause.

The feeling of being suspected, without any obvious cause, is described as particularly strong during those periods when there is a general discussion that it is ‘unnatural’ for men to work with children, as a result of CSA cases and media attention. In these periods their actions are described as more likely to be misinterpreted (Cushman 2009; Piper and Stronach 2009; Sargent 2005). These periods are thus described as critical regarding drop-outs from the profession.

When I had worked for some years in the 1990s, these writings started. It was like a witch-hunt. Many men changed careers, I know at least 4–5 only at preschools around where I worked. It was pretty thoughtful there for a while, if me too would stop work with children.

Despite these concerns, several of the men stated that they actively chose to overcome concerns about the pedophile discourse. Nevertheless, after having been reported for CSA, it is much harder.

I had worked five years when I was reported for CSA, and felt that, oh, well, if I work for another 10 years, will I be reported a second time? Because you can be reported randomly, it feels deadly dangerous. If I remain in the profession, I will sooner or later be imprisoned as a pedophile. I mean, how many times can you be falsely accused in the public eye? After the police interrogation had started, all I could do was to wait. Much was written about it in the media. I have a paper that says that the investigation is closed due to lack of evidence. It is not saying that I am innocent. That's what you get … It's the worst I've ever been through. You cannot describe it. A year ago I would not even have stranded or had the energy to talk about it.

Some of the men who had no personal experience of being reported for CSA described former colleagues who were reported and had no support from parents, colleagues or managers. They had all changed carrier after this experience. One of the men in this study dropped-out after he was reported and he wanted stronger protection for men for daring to return to ECEC.

We need action plans if someone gets accused of CSA in preschool, about how to act professionally and smoothly, and what to do for these people to come back after an allegation, without feeling heeled and betrayed.

This type of action plan, together with support from parents, children, colleagues and management in the workplace, perhaps coincides with Peeters, Rohrmann, and Emilsen’s (2015, 310) request for a ‘male-friendly culture’ in ECEC for men who do not commit CSA. This is something we need more research about.

Conclusions

Previous studies have shown that there is a pedophile discourse, where men in ECEC are seen as potential pedophiles. The interviews form a story where CSA in ECEC is constructed as a social phenomenon, where reported abuses and experience of suspicion come in ‘waves’, with various degrees of intensity, and without end. The pedophile discourse is ever present, not possible to completely ignore, and it is thereby necessary for men in ECEC to relate to. The way to relate to this can be more or less active and influenced by personal experiences, experiences of colleagues who were suspected of CSA and media reports about abuse.

This study shows that it is in times of media attention about CSA that this discourse becomes activated and that there are specific situations where men need to position themselves in relation to this. Examples of such situations are when children need to be comforted, hugged, sit on someone’s lap, have their diapers changed, go to the toilet or take a nap.

We find that there are two positions that dominate the material: giving up in relation to the pedophile discourse or maneuvering and resisting it. The 25 interviewed men – consisting of certified preschool teachers, childcare assistants and others who lacked relevant training for the profession – express different positions and strategies for maneuvering the discourse. These are:

· avoiding certain tasks;

· do the tasks, but in ways that prevent and minimize suspicion;

· do the tasks without acknowledging personal risk, as the tasks are required in their professional role.

In addition to media attended child abuse, which makes it more difficult to overcome the anxiety of being wrongly suspected of CSA, many years in the profession are described as circumstances that make it easier to overcome personal concerns. Overall, the study shows that there is a threshold for men to work with children in ECEC. It indicates that there is a need for a strong drive to work as man within ECEC.

Implications

Striving to make it safe for children in ECEC has with the entry of men as caregivers paradoxically meant that children's bodies have become more exposed. The fact that men are overrepresented among those who have committed CSA has increased the required monitoring and visibility in countries where men have started working in ECEC (Burke and Dunkan 2016).

The results of this study can be summarized as follows: men do not have the same ability to develop professionalism in childcare compared to women when childcare by men is considered a potential risk (Brody 2015; Cameron 2001). However, by choosing positions to maneuver the pedophile discourse, these men can create ‘new discourses’, where men can be viewed as caregivers. Furthermore, these men's experiences highlight the overall question of what a professional approach is when it comes to physical contact and care for children in ECEC. Should professionalism solely be defined based on discourses of femininity and where the idea of good care is based on motherhood? By discussing professionalism in ECEC, where the relation between children and childcare personnel differs from the relation between children and parents, we can create not only a ‘male-friendly culture’ in ECEC (Peeters, Rohrmann, and Emilsen 2015) but also have the potential to create a ‘mankind-friendly culture’, in which both women and men can express professionalism in care within the ECEC, by helping children in intimate situations, such as diaper change, nap-time, comforting and dressing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.