ABSTRACT
This chapter is not a comprehensive description of the law describing the legal consequences for teachers behaving badly. Nor is it a detailed guide on avoiding the pitfalls of the law. The purpose of the chapter is rather to explore why there is law to deal with sexual relationships involving children and young people, directly and indirectly. What are the beliefs in our society which give rise to law and what objectives does the law serve? What does the law require of teachers both in terms of the protection they must give to children and in the example they are required to set?
