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Private School Abuse presents a range of criminal and improper acts frequently perpetrated against 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 may include several assaults within an continuing interaction. For example, an continuing intimate relationship with a student, spawned by the predatory behavior 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 another form of abuse, that may be made worse by the school’s failure to provide a safe environment that enabled the assault to happen. Within the school community are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. Immature students may be exposed to the predatory actions of older, more experienced students. This intent, coupled with peer-pressure applied on both the predator and the targeted victim, could lead to varying types of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.

In all reported Boarding School Abuse matters, a school administration’s megligence to completely, immediately report the assault to law enforcement and other authorities, or its additional negligence to research, address and deal fully with the situation increases the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and possibly others. Recent Boarding School Abuse issues reported in the media exemplify these failures, including matters where the attacker quietly leaves the campus only to assume working somewhere else in a school environment.

Predatory Behavior

Most private 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 situation. This may create both opportunity and cover for the possible 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 may feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community is expressing special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement in the school community, abuse allegations against these criminals are often met with doubt, disbelief, and resistance from the community. Often, abusers have distance and judgment issues which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This provides a predatory pathway and opportunity for the attack.

All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory actions that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a possible abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming methods used 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 setting, a predator often works closely with small amounts of students, understanding each student’s needs and weaknesses. Once a target is identified and chosen, 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 could initially work to get the student’s trust. This step is most difficult to realize as boarding school communities are often tight-knit and personal engagement is commonplace. Here, the attacker 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 engagement with the potential student-victim, the student will start to count on 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 comfortable with the relationship. In addition to attention and kindness, the possible victim may receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, gifts like the guarantee of higher marks, or a university recommendation letter. The reliance step is mainly when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.

Isolation

While the grooming progresses, the predator will try to isolate the student. At school, this may mean after-hour get togethers, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dormitory , one-on-one sports practice sessions, or various other such circumstances.

Sexualization

The predator will begin to de-sensitize the student from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other behaviors which lead to sexual interaction. This might start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or speaking, with suggestive messages to determine the victim’s response to the progression. This might escalate until the relationship transforms to one of a physical, sexual nature.

Maintenance

As the sexual relationship is established, the predator may work to maintain control of the victim and the continuing abuse. The predator will probably seek to manipulate the victim by introducing emotions of shame, or even threats, or use the opposite tactic of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator might keep trying to exploit the victim by whatever means available to keep the immoral physical relationship.

Impacts on Abuse Survivors

When the grooming increases as planned by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will probably respond positively 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. Since the abuse survivor participated in the re-calibration, she frequently experiences deep feelings of shame, initially blaming himself for the incident and hesitant to report it.

Additionally, beyond the abuse has been reported, victims of private school abuse are often subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, alienation from their peers, or retaliation from administrators. Especially at boarding schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be intense and social circles small, survivors of abuse might be readily isolated and socially persecuted. Exposed to such reactions, many boarding school abuse survivors who have reported the abuse leave school. Others, faced with the prospect of the isolation and social persecution, report the abuse decades later. In either situation, the legacy can be significant and life-altering.

Some abuse victims bear from long-term effects of the abuse including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal feelings, substance abuse, disturbed sleeping and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and keeping healthy relationships. Individual therapy and support groups might assist victims overcome these effects.

Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may win financial compensation from the abuser and more commonly, from the school for its negligence to protect the student from the abuse, 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 review your story and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are ready to talk with you. It’s important for a survivor to remember that being a victim is not your fault.

deerfield academy abuse at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those responsible for the assault to justice.