Boarding School Abuse

Private School Abuse denotes a series of criminal and lurid actions commonly committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault may be a one-time, non-consensual abuse or it may include many assaults within an continuing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate relationship with a student, created by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or employee and whether heading to physical agreed sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student-on-student sexual assault is an additional type of abuse, which may be compounded by the school’s failure to offer a safe environment that allowed the attack to happen. Inside the school population are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students may be subjected to the predatory behavior of older, more experienced students. This actions, along with peer-pressure applied on both the attacker and the targeted victim, might lead to varying types of abuse including sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Assault situations, a school administration’s megligence to completely, adequately report the crime to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further negligence to research, address and deal fully with the situation amplifies the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the media highlight these failures, including matters when the attacker quietly leaves the school merely to assume working somewhere else in a school environment.

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

In some matters, the abuser could be a likeable and popular individual, generally thought to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted victim could feel flattered that a well-liked superior in the school community has expressed special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and integration into the school community, abuse allegations against these predators are often met with distrust, disbelief, and resistance from the community. Frequesntly, abusers have boundary and morality problems which manifest themselves in oddly friendly relationships with students that are past what are normally anticipated. This provides a predatory path and opportunity for the attack.

Most abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory methods that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming methods used by predators who 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 situation, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, understanding each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once abuse in boarding school is located and chosen, 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 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 interaction is commonplace. Here, the attacker is likely part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellbeing and success at the school.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student might begin to count on more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is leveraging and fulfilling. The victim might spend more time with the predator, feeling increasingly comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and affection, the potential victim may receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, presents such as the guarantee of higher marks, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is mainly where the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming continues, the predator might work to isolate the potential victim. At school, this could mean late get togethers, tutoring sessions, encounters in the dormitory , one-on-one athletic training sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to desensitize the student from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other behaviors which lead to sexual interaction. This may begin with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s response to the progression. This might increase until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will work to maintain control over the victim and the continuing interaction. The predator will probably try to manipulate the victim by inducing feelings of shame, or even threats, or employ the opposite tactic of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. Regardless, the predator will continue to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to keep the immoral physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Survivors

While the grooming increases as planned by the predator, the victim, being made to feel special, will likely respond affirmatively to the actions. The predator, through these well-thought-out and performed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-work and reduce the moral boundaries of the victim. Because the victim participated in this re-calibration, she often experiences deep feelings of guilt, initially blaming herself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Furthermore, 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 revenge from teachers. Particularly at boarding schools, where academics are stringent, competition can be fierce and social circles small, victims of abuse can be rapidly isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to such reactions, many boarding school abuse victims who have reported the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of the isolation and social abuse, report the abuse a while later. In either situation, the impact can be significant and lasting.

Some abuse survivors suffer from long-term effects of the abuse that include depression, anxiety, ptsd, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, disturbed sleeping and eating patterns, and difficulty creating and keeping healthy relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups could assist victims overcome those effects.

Legally, a victim of boarding school abuse could recover 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 negligence in its process 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 review your story and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are prepared to speak with you. It’s important for a victim 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.