Private School Abuse

Private School Abuse presents a range of criminal and improper acts commonly committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees regarding sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack might be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it might involve several assaults during an ongoing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate encounter with a student, formed by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or staff and whether leading to physical agreed sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student on student sexual assault is an additional type of abuse, which can be compounded by the school’s failure to offer a safe environment that allowed the assault to occur. Within the school population are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Immature students might be exposed to the predatory behavior of older, more experienced students. This actions, coupled with peer-pressure exerted to both the predator and the targeted victim, could lead to varying forms of abuse including sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s failure to completely, immediately report the crime to law enforcement and other authorities, or its additional failure to investigate, address and deal fully with the matter increases the effects on the victim, the school population and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the press exemplify these failures, including matters when the perpetrator quietly leaves the campus only to assume working somewhere else in a school environment.

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

In some situations, the attacker may be a likeable and popular individual, generally considered to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted student might feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community has expressed special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and integration in the school community, abuse accusations against these attackers are frequently met with doubt, disbelief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have boundary and judgment problems which manifest themselves in oddly friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This creates a predatory pathway and opportunity for the attack.

Most abusers, to differing degrees, employ predatory methods that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Below is a compilation 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 setting, a predator usually works closely with small numbers of students, realizing each student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a target is identified and chosen, these vulnerabilities – like loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, can be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust

A predator might first work to gain the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to see as private school communities are usually tight-knit and personal interaction is commonplace. Here, the attacker is usually part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellbeing and achievement at the school.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student may start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is leveraging and fulfilling. The victim will spend more time with the predator, feeling increasingly comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, gifts like the guarantee of high marks, or a university recommendation letter. The reliance stage is mainly where the predatory behavior is noticeable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming continues, the predator may try to isolate the student. At school, this may mean late get togethers, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dormitory , one-on-one sports practice sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to desensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other behaviors which lead to sexual interaction. This may start with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the advancement. This will escalate until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to keep control of the victim and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely try to manipulate the student by inducing emotions of guilt, or even threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator may continue to exploit the victim with means necessary to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Victims

When the grooming increases as intended by the predator, the victim, being made to feel special, will probably respond affirmatively to the behaviors. The predator, through these well planned and performed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-calibrate and reduce the moral boundaries of the victim. Since the abuse survivor participated in this re-calibration, she frequently experiences deep feelings of shame, initially blaming herself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Furthermore, beyond the abuse has been revealed, victims of boarding school abuse are often subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like being bullied, isolation from their peers, or revenge from teachers. Especially at private schools, where academics are rigorous, competition can be fierce and social circles small, survivors of abuse can be quickly isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to those reactions, many private school abuse victims that have revealed the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of such isolation and social persecution, report the abuse decades later. In either case, the legacy 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 trouble establishing and keeping healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups could assist victims overcome those effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse could receive financial compensation from the predator and more frequently, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the abuse, 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 story and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are prepared to speak with you. It’s important for a victim to realize that being a victim is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the abuse to justice.