Boarding School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse presents a series of criminal and improper actions often perpetrated against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack can be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it may include many assaults during an continuing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate encounter with a student, created by the predatory behavior of a faculty member, school administrator or staff and whether heading to physical agreed sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.

Student on student sexual assault is another type of abuse, which can be compounded by the school’s failure to offer a safe environment that enabled the assault to occur. Within the school population are students of different ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students might be subjected to the predatory actions of older, more mature students. Their intent, coupled with peer-pressure exerted to both the attacker and the targeted victim, may lead to varying forms of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Assault situations, a school administration’s failure to fully, immediately report the crime to police and other authorities, or its further failure to research, address and deal fully with the matter amplifies the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the press highlight these failures, including times where the attacker quietly leaves the school merely to assume working somewhere else in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Many private schools pride themselves on their tiny, personal communities inside a well-defined and safe 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 can provide both opportunity and cover to the would-be attacker and for the predatory behavior.

In some situations, the abuser might be a personable and popular person, generally considered to be a enhancement 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 integration into the school community, attack accusations against these predators are frequently met with distrust, disbelief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have distance and judgment problems which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are commonly expected. This creates a predatory path and opportunity for the abuse.

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

Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s ploy. In a boarding school setting, a predator usually works closely with small numbers of students, understanding each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a target 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 might first work to get the student’s trust. This step is the most difficult to discern as boarding school communities are often 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 establishes a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student might start to count on more and more on the predator for whatever 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. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim may receive gifts from the predator, which may include valuable, gifts such as the promise of high marks, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance step is usually when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

As the grooming continues, the predator might work to isolate the potential victim. At school, this could mean late meetings, 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 actions which lead to sexual interaction. This might start with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive language to gauge the victim’s reaction to the advancement. This might escalate until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will work to maintain control over the victim and the continuing abuse. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the victim by inducing emotions of guilt, or possibly threats, or use the opposite tactic of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. Regardless, abuse in boarding schools might keep trying to exploit the victim with means necessary to keep the immoral physical relationship.

Impacts on Abuse Survivors

When the grooming escalates as intended by the predator, the victim, being made to feel special, will probably respond positively to the actions. The predator, through these well-thought-out and performed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-calibrate and reduce the moral confines of the targeted student. Because the abuse survivor participated in the re-calibration, she often has deep feelings of shame, initially blaming himself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Furthermore, beyond the abuse has been reported, victims of private school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, such as bullying, alienation from their peers, or retaliation from teachers. Especially at private schools, where academics are rigorous, competition can be intense and social circles small, victims of abuse could be quickly isolated and socially persecuted. Subjected to such reactions, many boarding school abuse victims that have reported the abuse leave school. Others, fighting with the prospect of such isolation and social persecution, report the abuse a while later. In either situation, the impact can be severe and lasting.

Some abuse victims bear from long-term effects of the abuse including depression, anxiety, ptsd, low self-esteem, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, restless sleeping and eating patterns, and trouble creating and maintaining healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups might help survivors overcome those effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse could recover financial compensation from the predator 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 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 situation and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are ready to speak with you. It’s 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 responsible for the abuse to justice.