Private School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse illustrates a wide-range of illegal and improper acts frequently perpetrated against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault might be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it may involve several assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate encounter with a student, created by the predatory actions of a faculty member, school administrator or employee and whether leading to physical agreed sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student-on-student sexual assault is another form of abuse, which may be made worse 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. Younger students might be exposed to the predatory actions of older, more mature students. abuse settlement , coupled with peer-pressure exerted to both the attacker and the targeted victim, can lead to varying forms of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s failure to fully, immediately report the assault to police and other authorities, or its further failure to research, address and deal fully with the matter amplifies the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the media exemplify these failures, including situations where the perpetrator quietly leaves the campus only to assume employment 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 might be expected in a non-boarding school situation. This may provide both opportunity and cover to the possible attacker and for the predatory behavior.

In some matters, the attacker could be a likeable and popular person, generally considered to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted victim may feel flattered that a well-liked superior in the school community has expressed special attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement in the school community, attack allegations against these attackers are often met with doubt, disbelief, and resistance from the community. Frequesntly, abusers have distance and morality issues which turn into oddly friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This provides a predatory path and opportunity for the attack.

All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory actions that are generally known as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Following 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 main part of a predator’s method. In a boarding school situation, a predator usually works closely with small amounts of students, understanding each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a target is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – such as being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, can be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust

A predator could initially work to gain the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to see as boarding school communities are usually 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 wellness and success at the school.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential student-victim, the student will begin to count on more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is leveraging and fulfilling. The student might spend more time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and kindness, the possible victim may receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, presents such as the guarantee of high grades, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is mainly where the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

As the grooming continues, the predator may try to isolate the potential victim. At school, this could mean after-hour meetings, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dorm , one-on-one sports practice sessions, or various other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will start to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This could start with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
As the sexual relationship is established, the predator will work to maintain control over the victim and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely try to manipulate the student by inducing feelings of shame, or even threats, or employ the opposite strategy of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. Regardless, the predator will continue to exploit the victim with means available to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Impacts on Abuse Survivors

While the grooming escalates as intended by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will likely respond positively to the actions. The predator, from these well-thought-out and executed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-work and reduce the moral confines of the targeted student. Since the victim participated in the re-calibration, he often has deep feelings of guilt, initially blaming herself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Additionally, after the abuse has been revealed, survivors of boarding school abuse are often subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, such as bullying, alienation from their peers, or retaliation from staff. Particularly at private schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be fierce and social circles small, victims of abuse can be rapidly isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to those reactions, many private school abuse victims who have revealed the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of the isolation and social abuse, report the abuse years later. In either case, 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, restless sleeping and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and keeping healthy relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups could help survivors get past those effects.

Legally, a victim of boarding school abuse could receive financial compensation from the abuser and more frequently, from the school for its failure to protect the student from the predator, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method 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 ready to talk with you. It’s important for a survivor to realize that being a victim is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those responsible for the abuse to justice.