A police officer investigating Kellie Whiteside, a teacher recently convicted of sexual misconduct with a former student, described the case as a "unicorn case." Jackie, the victim's mother, recalled the officer's words, noting that the police had never encountered a situation where a female teacher abused a female student. Her child, Alliyah, was groomed and abused by Whiteside over a decade. Jackie questioned whether the police overlooked warning signs due to the teacher's gender. "I think they expect it to be a female teacher with a male student or a male teacher molesting a male or female student," Jackie said. "I think they just didn't take the concerns seriously because you don't really hear about it."

Earlier this year, Whiteside pleaded guilty to repeated sexual conduct with a minor and was sentenced to five years in prison, with a non-parole period of two years. Alliyah, who uses they/them pronouns, came forward to report the abuse, believing that if Whiteside had been male, the response would have been different. "If it was a male doing any of those things, it would've been called out and it would've ended so much sooner," Alliyah stated.

Jackie expressed regret for not acting more decisively, saying, "I would've reacted completely different if Kellie had been a man, completely different. I think everybody involved would have reacted completely different."

Alliyah hopes that sharing their story will help others recognize the signs of abuse, regardless of the perpetrator's gender. "I'm hoping that a bunch of people — kids, parents, teachers, adults in general — can see all the red flags and understand not to have gender prejudice about predators. A predator is not a male or a female," they said.

Interviews with Alliyah's friends, family, and educators revealed a common belief that the signs of abuse were missed partly because Whiteside was a woman. Amanda Robertson, who has investigated sexual abuse allegations against teachers for over a decade, noted that cases involving female perpetrators are often not taken as seriously as those involving males. "We were starting to notice this pattern of female perpetration — mid-30s women involving adolescent students," she said.

Robertson's research indicated that victims and their families are less likely to report abuse by female teachers. "There was even an unwillingness to view it as a criminal matter," she explained. When allegations were made, schools and police often did not respond with the same urgency as they would for male-perpetrated offenses.

Dr. Larissa Christensen, co-leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit, emphasized that societal perceptions contribute to this issue. "Females for so long have been perceived as less harmful and almost asexual," she said, leading to a tendency to overlook female offenders.

Robertson's analysis of 809 allegations reported to the NSW Reportable Conduct Scheme from 2015 to 2019 revealed that about 76.6% involved male employees, while 23.4% involved female employees. Despite the lower reported rates for female offenders, the harm caused to victims is significant.

In 2023, Robertson published a PhD study examining how schools and authorities respond to allegations against female offenders. Her findings showed that schools were more likely to take no action when allegations were made against women compared to men.

In Alliyah's case, despite multiple complaints about Whiteside's behavior, no action was taken. In 2014, when Whiteside was caught messaging Alliyah, the Queensland Education Department was notified, but she continued teaching. In 2016, Alliyah's parents raised concerns again, but Whiteside was merely transferred to another school without an investigation.

Dr. Robertson believes that gender bias played a significant role in the failure to address Whiteside's actions. She also pointed out that jurisdictional differences in reporting systems may have contributed to the prolonged abuse.

The case highlights the need for greater awareness and understanding of how gender biases can affect the reporting and handling of sexual abuse allegations in educational settings.