Boarding School Abuse presents a range of criminal and lurid actions commonly perpetrated on students by school faculty members, administrators or staff involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault can be a one-time, non-consensual encounter or it might include many assaults within an ongoing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate relationship with a student, formed 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 an additional type of abuse, which might be made worse by the school’s failure to offer a safe environment that allowed the assault to occur. Inside the school community are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. Younger students might be exposed to the predatory actions of older, more experienced students. This actions, along with peer-pressure applied on both the attacker and the targeted victim, could lead to different types of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.
In all alleged Boarding School Abuse situations, a school administration’s failure to entirely, adequately report the assault to law enforcement and other authorities, or its additional negligence to investigate, address and deal completely with the situation increases the effects on the victim, the school population and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the press exemplify these failures, including matters where the perpetrator quietly leaves the campus merely to assume employment somewhere else in a school environment.
Predatory Behavior Most boarding schools pride themselves on their tiny, personal communities inside a well-defined and secure campus. In this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are often much closer and familiar with students than might be expected in a non-boarding school situation. This could create both opportunity and cover for the would-be abuser and for the predatory behavior.
In some matters, the abuser could be a personable and popular individual, generally considered to be a positive addition to the school community. A targeted student might feel flattered that a well-liked superior in the school community is expressing special attention in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement into the school community, abuse allegations against these abusers are frequently met with doubt, disbelief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have boundary and judgment issues which turn into oddly friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are normally anticipated. This provides a predatory pathway and opportunity for the abuse.
Most abusers, to varying amounts, employ predatory methods that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Below is a list of grooming methods exhibited by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate student.
Grooming Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s ploy. In a boarding school situation, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, understanding every student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a victim is identified and selected, these vulnerabilities – such as being lonely, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, could be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust
A predator might first work to gain the student’s trust. This step is 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 wellbeing and achievement at the school. Reliance As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential student-victim, the student will start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The student may spend more time with the predator, feeling more and more comfortable with the relationship. In addition to attention and affection, the possible victim may receive gifts from the predator, which may include valuable, gifts like the guarantee of higher grades, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is mainly where the predatory behavior is noticeable from well-meaning collegial behavior.
Isolation
While the grooming continues, the predator will try to isolate the student. At school, this might mean late meetings, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dorm , one-on-one sports training sessions, or other such circumstances. Sexualization The predator will start to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This might begin with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s response to the advancement. This could increase until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature. Maintenance Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will work to keep control of the student and the continuing abuse. The predator will likely try to manipulate the student by introducing emotions of guilt, or possibly threats, or employ the opposite strategy of continuing to have the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator may keep trying to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impacts on Abuse Survivors
When the grooming increases as intended by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will likely respond positively to the behaviors. The predator, from these well planned and executed grooming behaviors and activities, seeks to re-calibrate and reduce the moral confines of the victim. Since the victim participated in the re-calibration, she frequently has deep feelings of shame, initially blaming himself for the incident and likely not to report it.
Furthermore, after the abuse has been revealed, victims of private school abuse are frequently exposed to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like being bullied, isolation from their peers, or retaliation from teachers. Particularly at private schools, where academics are rigorous, competition can be fierce and social circles small, survivors of abuse might be readily isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to such reactions, many private school abuse victims that have reported the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of such isolation and social abuse, report the abuse years later. In either situation, the impact can be severe and life-altering.
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 establishing and maintaining healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups can assist victims get past those effects.
Legally, a victim of boarding school abuse can receive financial compensation from the abuser and more frequently, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the predator, as well as failures or negligence in its method of reviewing and responding to the survivor’s report of the abuse. If you are a survivor of boarding school abuse and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are prepared to speak with you. It is important for a victim to realize that experiencing assault is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the abuse to justice.
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