Private School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse presents a wide-range of criminal and lurid activities commonly committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or staff regarding sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault can be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it may include numerous assaults within an continuing interaction. For example, an ongoing intimate relationship with a student, created by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or employee and whether leading to physical consensual sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student-on-student sexual assault is another form of abuse, that may be made worse by the school’s negligence to offer a safe environment that allowed the attack to happen. Within the school community are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. abused at boarding school might be exposed to the predatory behavior of older, more experienced students. Their behavior, along with peer-pressure applied on both the attacker and the targeted victim, may lead to varying forms 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 law enforcement and other authorities, or its additional failure to investigate, address and deal completely with the situation increases the effects on the victim, the school population and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the press highlight these failures, including times when the perpetrator quietly leaves the campus merely to assume employment elsewhere in a school environment.

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

In some matters, the attacker may be a likeable and popular person, generally thought to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted student could feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community has expressed special attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement into the school community, abuse allegations against these abusers are often met with distrust, non-belief, and resistance by the community. Frequesntly, abusers have boundary and judgment issues which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are commonly expected. 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 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 main part of a predator’s method. In a boarding school situation, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, realizing each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a target is identified and chosen, these vulnerabilities – such as being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust

A predator could first work to gain the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to discern as private school communities are usually 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 wellness and success at the school.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student may begin to count on more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The student 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, including valuable, gifts like the guarantee of high marks, or a university 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 may work to isolate the potential victim. At school, this could mean late get togethers, tutoring sessions, encounters in the dormitory , one-on-one sports training sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will start to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other behaviors which lead to sexual interaction. This could begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or communicating, with suggestive language to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This could increase until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to keep control over the student and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the victim by introducing feelings of guilt, or even threats, or use the opposite tactic of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator may keep trying to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to keep the immoral physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Survivors

While the grooming increases 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 planned and executed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-calibrate and reduce the moral boundaries of the victim. Because the victim participated in the re-calibration, she often has deep feelings of guilt, initially blaming himself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Additionally, beyond the abuse has been revealed, victims of private school abuse are often exposed to discreet social pressure and intimidation, such as bullying, alienation from their peers, or retaliation from administrators. Especially at private schools, where education is stringent, competition can be intense and social circles small, victims of abuse could be quickly isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to such reactions, many boarding school abuse victims who have revealed the abuse leave school. Others, fighting with the prospect of the isolation and social persecution, report the abuse years later. In either situation, the legacy can be significant and lasting.

Some abuse victims suffer from long-term effects of the abuse including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, disturbed sleeping and eating patterns, and difficulty creating and maintaining healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups can assist survivors overcome these effects.

Legally, a victim of boarding school abuse can receive financial compensation from the predator and more frequently, from the school for its failure to protect the student from the predator, as well as failures or negligence in its method of reviewing and replying 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 ready to talk with you. It is 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 assault to justice.