Private School Abuse denotes a series of criminal and improper acts often committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees regarding sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack can be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it might involve many assaults within an continuing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate encounter 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 an additional form of abuse, that can be made worse by the school’s negligence to provide a safe environment that allowed the assault to happen. Inside the school community are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students may be subjected to the predatory actions of older, more mature students. Their behavior, coupled with peer-pressure applied to both the predator and the targeted victim, might lead to different forms of abuse including sexual assault of varying degrees.
In all alleged Boarding School Abuse situations, a school administration’s failure to entirely, immediately report the crime to police and other authorities, or its further negligence to investigate, address and deal completely with the matter increases the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the press highlight these failures, including times when the attacker quietly leaves the campus 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 this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are frequently much nearer and familiar with students than would be expected in a non-boarding school situation. This can create both opportunity and cover to the possible abuser and for the predatory behavior.
In some situations, the abuser could be a personable 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 attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and integration in the school community, attack accusations against these attackers are frequently 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 past what are normally expected. This creates a predatory pathway and opportunity for the attack.
Most abusers, to differing degrees, use predatory actions that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Below is a list of grooming behaviors used by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the student.
Grooming Grooming is a major part of a predator’s method. In a boarding school situation, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, knowing each student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a victim is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – like being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, can be systematically leveraged in the following manners:
Trust
A predator could first work to get the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to discern as private 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 wellness and success at the school. Reliance As a predator establishes a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student may begin to rely more and more on the predator for any 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. In addition to attention and kindness, the potential victim may receive gifts from the predator, which may include valuable, gifts such as the guarantee of higher grades, or a university recommendation letter. The reliance stage is usually when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.
Isolation
While the grooming progresses, 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 sports practice sessions, or various other such circumstances. Sexualization The predator will begin to desensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other behaviors which lead to sexual interaction. This could begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s response to the progression. This could escalate until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature. Maintenance Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will work to keep control over the student and the continuing abuse. The predator will probably try to manipulate the victim by introducing emotions of guilt, or possibly threats, or use the opposite tactic of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator will continue to exploit the victim by whatever means available to keep the immoral physical relationship.
Legacy on Abuse Survivors
When the grooming increases as intended by the predator, the victim, being made to feel special, will likely respond affirmatively to the behaviors. The predator, through these well planned and executed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-work and remove the moral confines of the victim. Because the abuse survivor participated in the re-calibration, she frequently experiences deep feelings of guilt, initially blaming herself for the incident and likely not to report it.
Additionally, after the abuse has been reported, victims of private school abuse are often subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, isolation from their peers, or revenge from teachers. Especially at boarding schools, where academics are rigorous, competition can be intense and social circles small, victims of abuse could be rapidly isolated and socially abused. Exposed to those reactions, many boarding school abuse victims that have revealed the abuse leave school. Others, fighting with the prospect of the isolation and social abuse, report the abuse decades later. In either situation, the legacy can be significant and lasting.
Some abuse victims suffer from long-term effects of the abuse including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, restless sleeping and eating patterns, and trouble creating and maintaining healthy relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups might help victims get past those effects.
Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse can recover financial compensation from the abuser and more commonly, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the predator, 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 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 realize 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.
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