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Above are local teachers accused by authorities of having inappropriate relationships with students in the midstate.

It can be seen each time local news organizations report on instances of teachers sexually abusing their students.

If the alleged perpetrator was a man, and the student a girl, he's labeled by the public and in the comments as a sexual predator.

But if a young, attractive woman abused a high school boy, that student is branded as a part of the problem — maybe even, in some cases, people will say he got lucky.

In the eyes of the law, these cases are no different, though young, female teachers systematically see more lenient sentencing compared with their male counterparts, according to Christopher Anderson, executive director of advocacy group MaleSurvivor.

Terry Abbott, chairman of the Houston-based public relations firm Drive West Communications, tracks reports of teachers sexually abusing students across the nation. He said about 40 percent of the teachers accused are women.

Andrea Clemens, an advocate against sexual abuse by educators, said the "double standard" is obvious, and judges, police and prosecutors need to do more to be sure she isn't getting better treatment than he.

At the end of the day, it comes down to the victim.

"I really feel for the guys," Clemens said. "Even if they think there's nothing wrong, there is documented proof that men have trouble later on with forming trusting relationships, [with] authority, [with] substance abuse. The bottom line is [the educators] are in positions of authority. I don't care if the student is 18 years old;if they are a student, that is hands off."

Anderson said evidence suggests some male victims don't realize as children that what they're experiencing is abuse, and often realize 10 or 20 years later that what happened was harmful.

He said MaleSurvivor hosts research that shows that the average male victim doesn't disclose his abuse until 20 years after it occurred.

"We see long delays, in part, because a 13- or 14-year-old boy whose first sexual experiences are with a 30-something female teacher, they oftentimes think that this is a wonderful thing," Anderson said. "It's not until much later in life until they see how their childhood was altered because of those experiences."

And later in life is when those same men can experience depression, anxiety, substance abuse, addiction to pornography and a plethora of other effects that are seen with any type of sexual abuse.

The delays in the realization that what they experienced was sexual abuse can be attributed, in many ways, to a fear of reporting what occurred.

Reporting instances of sexual abuse is extremely difficult for any victim, Anderson stressed, but boys face a societal stigma that can be difficult to overcome — one that may have indoctrinated them to believe a relationship with a much older woman is a good thing, not abuse.

Anderson said that in many ways, media can be blamed for perpetuating this harsh stigma against male victims. It all comes down to the language, he said.

Pam Mejia, a media researcher at Berkeley Media Studies Group, said that while female victims are often described as being abused by the perpetrator, teenage male victims are often described as being in a sexual "relationship" with the perpetrator.

Anderson said these characterizations, often taken on by society in general, minimize and normalize the situation. At the end of the day, a student can't consent to having sex with a teacher.

But that hasn't stopped many teachers' defense attorneys from successfully arguing consent. Time and time again, Anderson said, female teachers see more lenient sentences and see little to no jail time.

"Investigations into female-teacher, male-student abuse are not pursued as thoroughly, or as rigorously as with the gender roles reversed," he said.