Private School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse presents a series of criminal and improper activities frequently committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack may be a one-time, non-consensual abuse or it may involve several assaults during an continuing interaction. For example, an ongoing intimate encounter with a student, formed by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or employee 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, which can be made worse by the school’s failure to provide a safe environment that allowed the assault 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. Their actions, along with peer-pressure applied to both the predator and the targeted victim, can lead to varying types of abuse including sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all alleged Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s megligence to entirely, immediately report the assault to police and other authorities, or its additional negligence to investigate, address and deal completely with the matter increases the effects on the abuse survivor, the school community and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the media highlight these failures, including times when the attacker quietly departs the school merely to assume employment somewhere else in a school environment.

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

In some matters, the abuser may be a likeable and popular individual, generally thought to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted victim could feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community is expressing special attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement into the school community, abuse accusations against these predators are frequently met with distrust, non-belief, and resistance from the community. Frequesntly, abusers have boundary and morality problems which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are normally anticipated. This provides a predatory path and opportunity for the abuse.

Most abusers, to differing amounts, employ predatory tactics that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming methods exhibited by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the student.

Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s method. In a boarding school setting, a predator usually works closely with small numbers of students, knowing every student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a target is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – such as being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust

A predator will initially work to get the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to see as boarding school communities are often tight-knit and personal engagement is commonplace. Here, the attacker is likely part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellness and achievement at the school.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential student-victim, the student might begin to count on more and more on the predator for any need it is that the predator is leveraging and fulfilling. The victim will spend more time with the predator, feeling more and more comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and affection, the possible victim might receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, gifts like the guarantee of high 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 will try to isolate the student. At school, this may mean late get togethers, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dormitory , one-on-one athletic training sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will start to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This might begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive messages to determine the victim’s response to the progression. This will increase until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
As the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to maintain control over the victim and the continuing abuse. The predator will probably seek to manipulate the student by inducing feelings of guilt, or possibly threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator might continue to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to keep the inappropriate physical relationship.

Impacts on Abuse Victims

When the grooming increases as intended by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will likely respond positively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well planned and executed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-work and reduce the moral confines of the victim. Since the victim participated in this re-calibration, he frequently experiences deep feelings of shame, initially blaming himself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Furthermore, beyond the abuse has been reported, survivors of private school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, isolation from their peers, or revenge from administrators. Particularly at private schools, where academics are stringent, competition can be intense and social circles small, victims of abuse may be rapidly isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to those reactions, many private school abuse survivors that have reported the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of the isolation and social persecution, report the abuse a while later. In either situation, the impact can be severe and life-altering.

Some abuse victims bear from long-term effects of the abuse that include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, restless sleeping and eating patterns, and trouble establishing and maintaining healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups can assist survivors overcome those effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may win financial compensation from the predator and more frequently, from the school for its failure to protect the student from the predator, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and responding to the survivor’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 ready to talk with you. It is important for a survivor to realize that experiencing assault is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those responsible for the abuse to justice.