Boarding School Abuse

Boarding School Abuse denotes a range of illegal and improper actions frequently committed against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees regarding sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault might be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it might include many assaults during an continuing interaction. For example, an ongoing intimate encounter with a student, created 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 type of abuse, that may be made worse by the school’s negligence to provide a safe environment that enabled the attack to happen. Within the school population are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. Immature students may be subjected to the predatory behavior of older, more experienced students. Their actions, coupled with peer-pressure applied on both the attacker and the targeted victim, might lead to varying forms of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all alleged Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s failure to fully, immediately report the assault to police and other authorities, or its further failure to research, address and deal completely with the situation amplifies the effects on the victim, the school population and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the press exemplify these failures, including times when the perpetrator quietly leaves the campus merely to assume working elsewhere in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior
Many boarding schools pride themselves on their small, 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 possible abuser and for the predatory behavior.

In some matters, the attacker could be a personable and popular person, generally considered to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted student could 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 in the school community, attack accusations against these attackers are often met with doubt, disbelief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have distance and morality issues which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are beyond what are commonly expected. This provides a predatory path and opportunity for the attack.

deerfield academy abuse , to varying degrees, use predatory tactics that are generally known as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Following is a compilation of grooming methods used by predators that 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 setting, a predator usually works closely with small amounts of students, knowing every student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a target is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – such as loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust

A predator might initially work to gain the student’s trust. This step is the most difficult to discern as private school communities are usually tight-knit and personal engagement is commonplace. Here, the predator is usually 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 relationship with the potential student-victim, the student may start to rely more and more on the predator for any need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim will spend more time with the predator, feeling more and more comfortable with the relationship. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, gifts such as the promise of higher marks, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is usually where the predatory behavior is noticeable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

As the grooming continues, the predator will try to isolate the student. At school, this might mean late get togethers, tutoring sessions, encounters in the dormitory , one-on-one sports practice sessions, or other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This could begin with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive language to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This could increase until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to keep control over the victim and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the victim by introducing emotions of shame, or possibly threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. Regardless, the predator might keep trying to exploit the victim by whatever means available to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.

Legacy on Abuse Victims

When the grooming escalates as planned by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will probably respond affirmatively to the actions. The predator, from these well-thought-out and performed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-work and reduce the moral confines of the targeted student. Because the victim participated in the re-calibration, she often experiences deep feelings of shame, initially blaming herself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Additionally, after the abuse has been revealed, victims of private school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, such as being bullied, isolation from their peers, or revenge from staff. Particularly at boarding schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be intense and social circles small, survivors of abuse can be rapidly isolated and socially persecuted. Subjected to such reactions, many boarding school abuse survivors who have reported the abuse leave school. Others, fighting with the prospect of such isolation and social abuse, report the abuse a while later. In either situation, the impact can be significant and lasting.

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

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may recover financial compensation from the predator and more frequently, from the school for its failure to protect the student from the predator, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process 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 share your situation and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are prepared to speak with you. It’s important for a survivor to remember that experiencing assault is not your fault. The lawyers at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those responsible for the abuse to justice.