Private School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse illustrates a range of illegal and lurid activities frequently 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 can involve numerous assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate relationship with a student, spawned by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or staff and whether heading to physical consensual sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student-on-student sexual assault is another type of abuse, which can be compounded by the school’s failure to provide a safe environment that enabled the assault to happen. Within the school population are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Immature students might be exposed to the predatory actions of older, more mature students. This actions, along with peer-pressure applied 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 Abuse situations, a school administration’s megligence to entirely, immediately report the assault to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further failure to research, address and deal completely with the situation increases the effects on the victim, the school community and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the press exemplify these failures, including times where the perpetrator quietly departs the school only to assume working somewhere else in a school environment.

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

In some matters, the attacker may be a personable and popular individual, generally thought to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted student could feel flattered that a well-liked superior in the school community is expressing special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and integration into the school community, abuse accusations against these predators are frequently met with doubt, non-belief, and resistance by the community. Frequesntly, abusers have distance and morality issues which manifest themselves in unusually friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are commonly expected. This creates a predatory path and opportunity for the abuse.

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

Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s method. In a boarding school situation, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, understanding every student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a victim is identified and chosen, these vulnerabilities – like loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, might be systematically exploited in the following ways:

Trust

A predator will first work to get the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to discern as private 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 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 more and more comfortable with the relationship. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim may receive gifts from the predator, which may include valuable, presents like the guarantee of higher marks, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is mainly when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming continues, the predator might work to isolate the potential victim. At school, this may mean late meetings, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dorm , one-on-one athletic training sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to de-sensitize the student from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This might begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive language to gauge the victim’s reaction to the advancement. This will increase until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
As the sexual relationship is established, the predator may try to maintain control over the victim and the continuing interaction. The predator will probably seek to manipulate the victim by introducing emotions of shame, or possibly threats, or employ the opposite tactic of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. Regardless, the predator might continue to exploit the victim with means available to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Victims

When the grooming increases as planned by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will probably respond affirmatively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well-thought-out and executed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-calibrate and remove the moral boundaries of the targeted student. Because the abuse survivor participated in this re-calibration, she frequently experiences deep feelings of guilt, initially blaming herself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Furthermore, after the abuse has been revealed, survivors of private school abuse are frequently exposed to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, alienation from their peers, or retaliation from teachers. Particularly at boarding schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be fierce and social circles small, survivors of abuse may be rapidly isolated and socially persecuted. Subjected 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 abuse, report the abuse years later. In either situation, the legacy can be severe and life-altering.

Some abuse survivors deal with from long-term effects of the abuse that include depression, anxiety, ptsd, low self-esteem, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, restless sleeping and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and keeping healthy relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups might assist survivors get past these effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may recover financial compensation from the predator and more frequently, from the school for its failure to protect the student from the abuse, as well as failures or negligence 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 share 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 being a victim is not your fault. The lawyers at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the abuse to justice.