Private School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse presents a wide-range of criminal and improper acts often committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees regarding sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault might be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it can include many assaults within an ongoing interaction. For abused at boarding school , an continuing intimate relationship with a student, formed by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or staff and whether leading to physical consensual sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student-on-student sexual assault is an additional form of abuse, that might be compounded by the school’s negligence to offer a safe environment that enabled the attack to happen. Within the school population are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students might be subjected to the predatory behavior of older, more mature students. This behavior, coupled with peer-pressure exerted on both the attacker and the targeted victim, could lead to different types of abuse including sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s megligence to entirely, immediately report the assault to police and other authorities, or its further negligence to research, address and deal completely with the situation amplifies the effects on the victim, the school population and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the media highlight these failures, including matters where the perpetrator quietly departs the school merely to assume working elsewhere in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Most private schools pride themselves on their small, personal communities inside a well-defined and secure campus. In this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are often much closer and familiar with students than might be expected in a non-boarding school situation. This may create both opportunity and cover to the possible abuser and for the predatory behavior.

In some situations, the abuser could be a personable and popular person, generally considered to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted student might feel flattered that a well-liked superior in the school community is expressing special attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement in the school community, attack accusations against these criminals are frequently met with distrust, non-belief, and resistance by the community. Frequesntly, abusers have boundary and morality issues which manifest themselves in oddly friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This creates a predatory path and opportunity for the attack.

All abusers, to differing amounts, use predatory tactics that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Below is a list of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators that are in a position of authority in relation to the student.

Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s ploy. In a boarding school situation, a predator often works closely with small numbers of students, knowing each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a victim is identified and chosen, these vulnerabilities – like loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, may be systematically exploited in the following manners:

Trust

A predator might initially work to gain the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to realize as private school communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction is commonplace. Here, the predator is likely part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellbeing and success at the school.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student might begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim will spend more time with the predator, feeling increasingly comfortable with the relationship. In addition to attention and affection, the possible victim might receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, presents such as the promise of high grades, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is mainly where the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

As the grooming progresses, the predator will try to isolate the student. At school, this may mean late get togethers, tutoring sessions, encounters in the dormitory , one-on-one athletic training sessions, or various other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will start to desensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This could start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive language to determine the victim’s reaction to the advancement. This could escalate until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will try to keep control over the victim and the continuing abuse. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the victim by inducing feelings of shame, or possibly threats, or employ the opposite strategy of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator will continue to exploit the victim with means necessary to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.

Impacts on Abuse Victims

When the grooming escalates as planned by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will probably respond positively to the actions. The predator, from these well planned and executed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-calibrate and remove the moral boundaries of the victim. Because the victim participated in the re-calibration, she often has deep feelings of shame, initially blaming himself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Additionally, after the abuse has been revealed, victims of boarding school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, isolation from their peers, or revenge from administrators. Especially at boarding schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be intense and social circles small, survivors of abuse might be quickly isolated and socially abused. Subjected to such reactions, many boarding school abuse victims who have revealed the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of such isolation and social persecution, report the abuse a while later. In either case, the legacy can be significant and lasting.

Some abuse survivors suffer from long-term effects of the abuse that include depression, anxiety, ptsd, low self-esteem, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, disturbed sleeping and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and maintaining healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups could help victims get past those effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse can win financial compensation from the predator and more frequently, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the predator, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and replying to the victim’s report of the abuse. If you are a survivor of boarding school abuse and would like to confidentially review your situation and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are ready to speak with you. It’s important for a victim to remember that being a victim is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the assault to justice.