Private School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse illustrates a wide-range of criminal and lurid actions often perpetrated on students by school faculty members, administrators or staff involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack may be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it can include numerous assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate relationship with a student, formed by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or employee and whether heading to physical consensual sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student-on-student sexual assault is an additional type of abuse, that can be compounded by the school’s negligence to provide a safe environment that enabled the assault to occur. Within the school population are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Immature students might be subjected to the predatory behavior of older, more mature students. This intent, along with peer-pressure exerted on both the predator and the targeted victim, could lead to varying forms of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s megligence to completely, adequately report the crime to police and other authorities, or its additional negligence to research, address and deal completely with the matter increases the effects on the abuse survivor, the school community and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the media exemplify these failures, including times where the attacker quietly leaves the campus merely to assume working elsewhere in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Many private schools pride themselves on their small, personal communities inside a well-defined and secure campus. In that environment, faculty, administrators and staff are frequently much closer and familiar with students than would be expected in a non-boarding school situation. This could create both opportunity and cover for the would-be attacker and for the predatory behavior.

In some situations, the abuser could be a personable and popular individual, generally considered to be a positive addition to the school community. abused at boarding school might feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community is expressing special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and integration into the school community, attack accusations against these abusers are often met with doubt, non-belief, and resistance from the community. Often, abusers have boundary and judgment issues which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are normally expected. This provides a predatory path and opportunity for the abuse.

All abusers, to differing amounts, use predatory tactics that are generally known as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Below is a compilation of grooming methods used by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the student.

Grooming
Grooming is a main part of a predator’s ploy. In a boarding school situation, a predator usually works closely with small amounts of students, understanding each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a target is identified and selected, these vulnerabilities – like being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, may be systematically exploited in the following manners:

Trust

A predator may first work to gain the student’s trust. This step is the most difficult to discern as boarding school communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction is commonplace. Here, the predator is usually part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellness and success at the school.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student will begin to count on more and more on the predator for any need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The student will spend more time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and kindness, the possible victim may receive gifts from the predator, which may include valuable, gifts such as the promise of higher grades, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance step is usually when the predatory behavior is noticeable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming progresses, the predator might work to isolate the student. At school, this could mean after-hour meetings, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dorm , one-on-one athletic training sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to desensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This may start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive language to gauge the victim’s response to the progression. This will increase until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will work to maintain control of the victim and the continuing abuse. The predator will probably try to manipulate the victim by introducing emotions of guilt, or even threats, or employ the opposite strategy of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator might keep trying to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Victims

When the grooming escalates as intended by the predator, the victim, being made to feel special, will probably respond positively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well-thought-out and executed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-work and reduce the moral confines of the victim. Because the abuse survivor participated in this re-calibration, he often has deep feelings of guilt, initially blaming himself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Additionally, beyond the abuse has been reported, victims of boarding school abuse are often subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like being bullied, isolation from their peers, or retaliation from teachers. Particularly at private schools, where education is stringent, competition can be fierce and social circles small, victims of abuse might be quickly isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to those reactions, many boarding school abuse survivors that have reported the abuse leave school. Others, fighting with the prospect of the isolation and social persecution, report the abuse a while later. In either situation, the impact can be significant and lasting.

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

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may recover financial compensation from the abuser and more commonly, from the school for its failure to protect the student from the abuse, as well as failures or negligence in its method of reviewing and responding to the victim’s report of the abuse. If you are a survivor of boarding school abuse and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are prepared to speak with you. It’s important for a survivor to realize that experiencing assault is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the assault to justice.