Boarding School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse denotes a wide-range of illegal and lurid activities commonly perpetrated on students by school faculty members, administrators or staff involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack may be a one-time, non-consensual encounter or it may involve several assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate relationship with a student, formed by the predatory actions of a faculty member, school administrator or staff and whether leading 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 compounded by the school’s failure to offer a safe environment that allowed the assault to happen. Within the school population are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students may be subjected to the predatory actions of older, more mature students. Their intent, along with peer-pressure exerted to both the attacker and the targeted victim, could lead to varying types of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Abuse matters, a school administration’s failure to fully, immediately report the crime to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further failure to investigate, address and deal completely with the situation increases the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the media highlight these failures, including situations where the perpetrator quietly departs the school only to assume employment somewhere else in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Most private schools pride themselves on their tiny, personal communities inside a well-defined and secure campus. In this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are often much closer and familiar with students than would 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 abuser may be a likeable and popular individual, generally thought to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted victim could feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community has expressed special attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and integration in the school community, abuse allegations against these criminals are often 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 provides a predatory pathway and opportunity for the abuse.

Most abusers, to differing amounts, employ predatory tactics that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators who 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 numbers of students, realizing every student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a victim is identified and selected, these vulnerabilities – like being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, can be systematically exploited in the following manners:

Trust

A predator will first work to get the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to realize as private school communities are usually tight-knit and personal engagement is commonplace. Here, the predator is usually part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellness and achievement at the school.
choate school abuse
As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential student-victim, the student might begin to count on more and more on the predator for any need it is that the predator is leveraging and fulfilling. The victim may spend more time with the predator, feeling increasingly comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, presents such as the guarantee of high grades, or a university recommendation letter. The reliance step is usually 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 might mean late get togethers, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dormitory , one-on-one sports training sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will start to desensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This may begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This could escalate until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator may work to maintain control of the victim and the continuing abuse. The predator will probably seek to manipulate the victim by inducing feelings of guilt, or even threats, or employ the opposite tactic of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator may continue to exploit the victim by whatever means available to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Victims

When the grooming escalates as intended by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will likely respond affirmatively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well planned and executed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-work and remove the moral boundaries of the victim. Since the abuse survivor participated in this re-calibration, she often has deep feelings of shame, initially blaming herself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Additionally, beyond the abuse has been revealed, survivors of private school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like being bullied, isolation from their peers, or revenge from teachers. Especially at boarding schools, where education is stringent, competition can be intense and social circles small, victims of abuse may be readily isolated and socially abused. Exposed to such reactions, many boarding school abuse victims who have reported the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of such isolation and social abuse, report the abuse years later. In either situation, the impact can be severe and life-altering.

Some abuse survivors 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. Individualized therapy and support groups might assist victims overcome those effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may win 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 negligence 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 share your story 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 remember 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.