Boarding School Abuse

Private School Abuse illustrates a wide-range of illegal and improper activities commonly perpetrated against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees regarding sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault can be a one-time, non-consensual encounter or it can include several assaults within an continuing interaction. For example, an ongoing intimate relationship with a student, spawned by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or staff 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 might be made worse by the school’s negligence to provide a safe environment that enabled the assault to happen. Within the school population are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students might be exposed to the predatory actions of older, more experienced students. Their intent, along with peer-pressure applied on both the predator and the targeted victim, can lead to different types of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s megligence to completely, adequately report the assault to law enforcement and other authorities, or its additional failure to investigate, address and deal fully 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 attacker quietly leaves the school merely to assume employment somewhere else in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Many boarding schools pride themselves on their small, personal communities within a well-defined and safe campus. In that environment, faculty, administrators and staff are frequently much nearer and familiar with students than might be expected in a non-boarding school setting. This can provide both opportunity and cover to the would-be abuser and for the predatory behavior.

In some matters, the abuser might be a personable and popular individual, generally considered to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted victim might feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community is expressing special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and integration into the school community, abuse accusations against these criminals are frequently met with distrust, disbelief, and resistance from the community. Frequesntly, abusers have boundary and morality problems which manifest themselves in unusually friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly expected. This creates a predatory pathway and opportunity for the abuse.

Most abusers, to varying degrees, use predatory methods that are generally known as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Below is a list of grooming behaviors used by predators that are in a position of authority in relation to the student.

Grooming
Grooming is a main part of a predator’s ploy. In a boarding school setting, a predator usually works closely with small numbers of students, knowing each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a victim is identified and chosen, these vulnerabilities – such as being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, could be systematically leveraged in the following manners:

Trust

A predator could first work to gain the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to realize as boarding 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 wellbeing 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 leveraging and fulfilling. The student might spend more time with the predator, feeling increasingly comfortable with the relationship. Additionally to attention and kindness, the potential victim might receive gifts from the predator, which may include valuable, gifts like the promise of higher grades, or a university recommendation letter. choate abuse is mainly when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

As the grooming continues, the predator will try to isolate the potential victim. At school, this may mean late meetings, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dorm , one-on-one athletic training sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to desensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This could begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or communicating, with suggestive language to gauge the victim’s response to the progression. This will increase until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator may try to maintain control over the student and the continuing abuse. The predator will likely try to manipulate the student by introducing emotions of guilt, or even threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. Regardless, the predator may continue to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Victims

While the grooming increases as planned by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will probably respond positively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well-thought-out and executed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-work and reduce the moral boundaries of the victim. Since the victim participated in the re-calibration, he often has deep feelings of guilt, initially blaming herself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Furthermore, after the abuse has been revealed, victims of boarding school abuse are often exposed to discreet social pressure and intimidation, such as being bullied, alienation from their peers, or revenge from administrators. Particularly at private schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be fierce and social circles small, victims of abuse can be readily isolated and socially abused. Subjected to those reactions, many boarding school abuse victims that have reported the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of the isolation and social abuse, report the abuse years later. In either case, 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 might help victims overcome these effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse could receive financial compensation from the abuser and more commonly, 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 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 speak with you. It’s important for a victim to remember that experiencing assault is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those responsible for the assault to justice.