Don’t ban male workers from childcare say experts
The shocking news that a Melbourne childcare worker has been charged with more than 70 child sex offences has led to calls for men to be banned from working with young children.
One childcare provider, Inspire Early Learning, has banned male workers from changing nappies and performing toileting duties across its 16 centres.
A range of stakeholders and commentators agree that reform of the system is essential to keep children safe and to prevent and deter abusers from joining the profession.
Advocates for male educators have also warned that banning men from the profession is not the answer and could have negative consequences.
Child sexual abuse detective
Former child sexual abuse detective Kristi McVee spoke to The Sector website, which focuses on the early childhood education and child care (ECEC) sector. She said:
"I don't want to gender this issue. In my experience, I've seen both female and male offenders. It's not until other men stand up to men and say 'no, this is not good enough' that meaningful change will happen."
Male early childhood educator
One of the men speaking out is Nick Stephens, an Early Childhood Educator, who told ABC Radio National:
"Reform needs to happen to protect all children, and it doesn't matter [what gender you are], we need to improve the safety of children. I've been yelling from the rooftops for a long time, and finally, people are listening."
In a separate interview with triple J, Nick said:
"For any male educator, they know how hard you have to work to build trust because the work we do with children is sacred, and I take that trust very seriously.
"Regulations need to change, practices need to change and need ratios need to change, the more adults you have in a room working with children, the less likely something can happen.
"I work out in Western Sydney, and for 40% plus of our children, I am the only male role model they have and may be the only positive male role model they'll have for the first 13 years of their life.
"The impact of men, especially in early childhood, is massive, and it's just sad to know that there are men who search [for] this job to do awful things.
"We're going to lose some men, and then recruiting males into the industry becomes much trickier because that stigma grows."
Academic specialising in Early Childhood Education
Dr Martyn Mills-Bayne is a senior lecturer at the University of South Australia whose work focuses on men in early childhood education. Dr Mills-Bayne told ABC Darwin:
"High-quality male educators are part of the solution here. They are there to make children safe, and by removing men we are actually limiting children's ability to see powerful relationships and great male educators, who may be role models for children who don't have that in other parts of their lives".
Speaking to the Australian Men's Health Forum, Dr Mills-Bayne said:
"Male educators are hurting right now. This is not because their feelings are being hurt, but because every male predator that gets through the gaps in child safety and harms children and families impacts on the perception of the many amazing male educators in the sector.
"Male educators are equal members in teams of educators, and everyone working in education needs to support their male colleagues during these sickening moments."
"Men are vastly under-represented in caring roles, and we need as many good men as possible to work in the early childhood education and care sector for gender diversity, and to help create a strong foundation of positive masculinity where young boys and girls can see men who care."
Dr Mills-Bayne has written about the current debate in more detail at The Conversation.
Male childcare workers are feeling the impact
Childcare worker Ben Munroe is one of the male childcare workers who is feeling the impact of calls to ban men from working with young children. He told ABC News he was worried his career might be at risk and didn't want to get out of bed and go to work for fear of being judged because of his gender.
He said, "A week ago, I wasn't thinking in terms of male and female, I was just thinking I'm an educator here doing my job like everybody else.
"I'm concerned the conversation is quickly switching to 'men are the problem', which makes male educators feel even more isolated.
"Across every centre in Melbourne, there will be parents saying, 'I don't want men changing my child's nappies.' I'm not going to go against that … if that's what they need to feel safe."
Professional Association for Male Educators
Ramesh Shrestha is the founder and president of Thriving Educators Aspiring Male Professionals — a professional association representing men in the childcare sector.
Writing on LinkedIn, Ramesh said the impact was being felt across the sector.
"Right now, the early childhood sector is grappling with grief, anger, and fear, and some are proposing a dangerous solution.
"It is undeniable that some offenders deliberately seek out positions of trust to harm children. But banning all men from early childhood education does not erase that risk; it only shifts it elsewhere and deprives children of the positive male role models many need.
"Most abuse happens not in professional settings, but in homes, families, and communities, often by individuals already known to the child.
"If background checks, supervision, and reporting systems fail, no blanket ban will guarantee safety. Stronger screening, tighter oversight, and a culture of transparency are far more effective than excluding an entire gender."
United Workers Union
The United Workers Union, representing early educators and running the Big Steps campaign, has spoken out in defence of male educators.
The Union's director of early childhood education, Carolyn Smith, told SBS that she was worried about the impact of the case on the perception of men in early education, their participation in the workforce and the flow-on effects of losing any strong male role models.
"We need to set up a system that is safer rather than targeting a gender or a particular group of workers," she said this week.
Through its Big Steps campaign, the Union also published a letter from a Centre Director member to the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Jess Walsh. It said:
"I am deeply concerned to see reactive proposals emerging in public debate, such as banning male educators from the profession. Abuse is never about gender – it is about individual choices and systemic failures.
"The early childhood education sector is full of passionate, skilled, and dedicated professionals. We need the government's support to ensure our systems are robust, our workforce is valued, and children's safety remains the non-negotiable foundation of everything we do."
Support for male victims of sexual abuse
For men who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse, SAMSN (Survivors and Mates Support Network) provides a range of support. See: https://www.samsn.org.au.