Boarding School Abuse

Private School Abuse illustrates a series of criminal and lurid actions often committed on students by school faculty members, administrators or employees involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack can be a one-time, non-consensual encounter or it can involve many assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an ongoing intimate relationship with a student, spawned by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or employee 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, that may be compounded by the school’s negligence to provide a safe environment that enabled the attack to occur. Inside the school community are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. Immature students might be subjected to the predatory behavior of older, more mature students. Their behavior, coupled with peer-pressure exerted on both the attacker and the targeted victim, can lead to varying types of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all alleged Boarding School Assault situations, a school administration’s failure to entirely, adequately report the crime to police and other authorities, or its further negligence to research, address and deal completely with the matter increases the effects on the victim, the school community and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the media highlight these failures, including times where the perpetrator quietly departs the campus merely to assume employment elsewhere in a school environment.

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

In some situations, the abuser may be a likeable and popular individual, generally considered to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted victim may feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community is expressing special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement in the school community, abuse allegations against these criminals are frequently met with distrust, non-belief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have distance and morality issues which turn into oddly friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are commonly anticipated. This creates a predatory pathway and opportunity for the attack.

Most abusers, to differing amounts, use predatory actions that are generally known as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming behaviors used by predators that are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate student.

Grooming
Grooming is a major part of a predator’s ploy. In a boarding school setting, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, understanding each student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a victim is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – such as loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, may be systematically exploited in the following manners:

Trust

A predator might first work to get the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to realize as private school communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction is commonplace. Here, the attacker is usually part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellness and achievement at the school.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential student-victim, the student may start 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 increasingly comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and affection, the possible victim may receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, gifts such as the promise of high marks, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance step is usually where the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming progresses, the predator will try to isolate the potential victim. At school, this may mean after-hour meetings, tutoring sessions, encounters in the dorm , one-on-one sports practice sessions, or various other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will start to desensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This might start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive language to determine the victim’s reaction to the progression. This might increase until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
As the sexual relationship is created, the predator may work to maintain control of the student and the continuing interaction. The predator will probably seek to manipulate the student by inducing emotions of shame, or even threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator will keep trying to exploit the victim with means necessary to keep the immoral physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Victims

While the grooming escalates as planned by the predator, the victim, being made to feel special, will likely respond positively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well-thought-out and performed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-calibrate and reduce the moral boundaries of the targeted student. Because the victim participated in this re-calibration, she often experiences deep feelings of shame, initially blaming herself for the incident and likely not to report it.

Additionally, beyond the abuse has been reported, survivors of boarding school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, alienation from their peers, or retaliation from teachers. Particularly at private schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be intense and social circles small, survivors of abuse can be quickly isolated and socially persecuted. Subjected to those reactions, many private school abuse survivors 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 case, the impact can be severe and life-altering.

Some abuse victims suffer from long-term effects of the abuse that include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, restless sleeping and eating patterns, and trouble establishing and keeping healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups may assist survivors get past those effects.

Legally, a victim of boarding school abuse may receive financial compensation from the abuser and more frequently, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method 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 story and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are prepared to talk with you. It is important for a victim to remember that being a victim is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the abuse to justice.