A ‘Heinous Offence’: Rural Schoolmasters and Sexual Assault in Victorian Scotland

Abstract

Through a close examination of two cases in which rural schoolmasters in Victorian Scotland were accused of sexually assaulting their pupils, this article explores the gendered social and power dynamics, attitudes towards teachers and the nature of schools as spaces and institutions in rural communities. The sense of authority that community members felt over schoolmasters made them subject to scrutiny and pressure from the community, especially the mothers of pupils, in ways that allowed the community to assert at least some authority over schoolmasters. However, both rural schoolmasters examined here were able to leverage their professional prestige, gender and the preference many communities had to handle potentially scandalous matters quietly and locally to mitigate substantially the consequences they faced.