Most Australians support male educators in childcare, poll finds
The polling, conducted by DemosAU, surveyed 1199 Australians after the case of a Melbourne childcare worker charged last week with sexually abusing children and infants in his care.
Despite some calls from sexual abuse victims' families, less than a quarter of respondents wanted men banned entirely, although the figure was higher for parents with children under five.
Brisbane mother-of-two Katie Vandevelde was among those to support men working in early education, saying one of her children had had an 'amazing' male educator at his centre.
She said she was surprised by the extent of negative commentary shared on local mums' social media groups.
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'I was shocked [by] how strongly people felt against males … saying things like, 'there must be something wrong with a male if he wants to work with children',' she said.
'I don't agree with that at all.'
Vandevelde was also positive about her daughter's daycare centre, and had 'absolute faith' in the measures taken to keep children safe.
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