Private School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse denotes a range of criminal and lurid actions frequently committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or staff regarding sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault might be a one-time, non-consensual encounter or it can include several assaults during an continuing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate encounter with a student, spawned by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or staff and whether heading to physical agreed sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student on student sexual assault is another 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 community are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students might be exposed to the predatory behavior of older, more experienced students. This actions, coupled with peer-pressure exerted to both the attacker and the targeted victim, could lead to varying types of abuse including sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Abuse matters, a school administration’s megligence to fully, adequately report the assault to police and other authorities, or its further negligence to investigate, address and deal fully with the matter amplifies the effects on the abuse survivor, the school community and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the media highlight these failures, including times where the attacker quietly leaves the campus merely to assume working somewhere else in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Most private schools pride themselves on their tiny, personal communities inside a well-defined and safe campus. In this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are often much nearer and familiar with students than might be expected in a non-boarding school setting. This may provide 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 person, generally considered to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted victim 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, attack accusations against these predators are frequently met with distrust, disbelief, and resistance by the community. Frequesntly, abusers have boundary and morality problems which turn into oddly friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This provides a predatory pathway and opportunity for the abuse.

All abusers, to varying amounts, use predatory actions that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming behaviors exhibited 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 often works closely with small amounts of students, realizing every student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a victim is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – like being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, may 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 boarding school communities are often tight-knit and personal engagement is commonplace. Here, the attacker is usually 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 start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The student may spend more time with the predator, feeling increasingly comfortable with the relationship. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, presents such as the guarantee of higher grades, or a university recommendation letter. The reliance step is usually when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming progresses, the predator may try to isolate the potential victim. At school, this could mean after-hour get togethers, tutoring sessions, encounters in the dorm , one-on-one athletic practice sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This could begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s response to the progression. This could increase until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
As the sexual relationship is created, the predator may work to keep control of the student and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the student 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 may continue to exploit the victim with means available to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Impacts on Abuse Victims

When the grooming increases as intended by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will probably respond positively to the behaviors. The predator, through these well planned and performed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-work and remove the moral boundaries of the targeted student. Because the abuse survivor participated in this re-calibration, she frequently experiences deep feelings of shame, initially blaming herself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Additionally, beyond the abuse has been revealed, survivors of boarding school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like being bullied, alienation from their peers, or revenge from teachers. Especially at private schools, where education is stringent, competition can be fierce and social circles small, victims of abuse could be quickly isolated and socially persecuted. Subjected to those reactions, many private school abuse victims that have reported the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of such isolation and social persecution, report the abuse decades later. In either situation, the legacy can be significant and life-altering.

Some abuse victims bear 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 maintaining healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups may help victims overcome these effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse could win financial compensation from the predator and more frequently, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the predator, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and replying to the victim’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 ready to speak with you. boarding school abuse lawsuit is important for a survivor to remember that experiencing assault is not your fault. The lawyers at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those responsible for the assault to justice.