Private School Abuse

Private School Abuse presents a wide-range of illegal and lurid acts frequently perpetrated against students by school faculty members, administrators or staff involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault might be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it might involve many assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an ongoing intimate relationship with a student, spawned 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 type of abuse, that can be made worse by the school’s failure to provide a safe environment that allowed the attack to occur. Within the school population are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students may be exposed to the predatory actions of older, more experienced students. Their actions, along with peer-pressure exerted on both the attacker and the targeted victim, might 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 assault to police and other authorities, or its further negligence to investigate, address and deal completely with the matter amplifies the effects on the victim, the school population and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the press exemplify these failures, including times when the attacker quietly leaves the school merely to assume working elsewhere in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Many boarding schools pride themselves on their tiny, personal communities within a well-defined and safe campus. In this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are frequently much closer and familiar with students than might be expected in a non-boarding school setting. This can create both opportunity and cover for the would-be attacker and for the predatory behavior.

In some matters, the attacker might be a personable and popular individual, generally considered to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted student may feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community is expressing special attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement in the school community, abuse allegations against these predators are often met with doubt, disbelief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have distance and judgment problems which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This creates a predatory pathway and opportunity for the abuse.

Most abusers, to differing degrees, use predatory methods that are generally referred to 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 major part of a predator’s ploy. In a boarding school setting, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, realizing each student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a victim is identified and selected, these vulnerabilities – such as loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust

A predator could initially 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 engagement is commonplace. Here, the attacker 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 relationship with the potential student-victim, the student may start to count on more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is leveraging and fulfilling. The victim might spend more time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship. In addition to attention and kindness, the potential victim might receive gifts from the predator, which may include valuable, gifts such as the promise of higher grades, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is usually where the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming progresses, the predator will try to isolate the potential victim. At school, this might mean late meetings, tutoring sessions, encounters in the dorm , one-on-one sports practice 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 may begin with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive language to determine the victim’s reaction to the progression. This could escalate until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will work to maintain control over the victim and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely try to manipulate the victim by introducing emotions of guilt, or even threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. Regardless, the predator may keep trying to exploit the victim with means available to keep the inappropriate physical relationship.

Impacts on Abuse Victims

While the grooming escalates as intended by the predator, the victim, being made to feel special, will likely respond positively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well planned and performed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-calibrate and reduce the moral boundaries of the targeted student. Since the victim participated in the re-calibration, she often experiences deep feelings of shame, initially blaming himself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Furthermore, beyond the abuse has been reported, victims of boarding school abuse are often exposed to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, isolation from their peers, or retaliation from administrators. Particularly at private schools, where academics are stringent, competition can be fierce and social circles small, victims of abuse might be readily isolated and socially persecuted. Subjected to such reactions, many boarding school abuse survivors that have revealed the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of the isolation and social abuse, report the abuse a while later. In school abuse lawsuit , the legacy can be severe and lasting.

Some abuse victims suffer from long-term effects of the abuse including depression, anxiety, ptsd, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, disturbed sleeping and eating patterns, and trouble creating and maintaining healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups might help victims get past these effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may receive financial compensation from the abuser and more frequently, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies 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 story 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 realize 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.