SPOILER ALERT!
Private School Abuse
Private School Abuse denotes a range of illegal and improper activities frequently perpetrated against students by school faculty members, administrators or employees involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The attack may be a one-time, non-consensual attack or it might include several assaults within an continuing interaction. For example, an ongoing intimate relationship with a student, formed by the predatory actions of a faculty member, school administrator or employee and whether leading to physical consensual sex acts or not, is a form of abuse.
Student-on-student sexual assault is another type of abuse, that may be made worse by the school’s failure to provide a safe environment that allowed the assault to happen. Inside the school community are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. school abuse lawsuit may be exposed to the predatory behavior of older, more experienced students. This actions, along with peer-pressure exerted on both the predator and the targeted victim, might lead to different types of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.
In all reported Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s failure to completely, immediately report the assault to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further negligence to investigate, address and deal completely with the matter amplifies the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the media exemplify these failures, including situations when the perpetrator quietly departs the school merely to assume employment elsewhere in a school environment.
Predatory Behavior
Many private schools pride themselves on their small, personal communities inside a well-defined and safe campus. In this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are frequently much closer and familiar with students than would be expected in a non-boarding school situation. This can provide both opportunity and cover to the possible abuser and for the predatory behavior.
In some matters, the abuser may be a likeable and popular individual, generally considered to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted victim may feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community has expressed special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement into the school community, abuse accusations against these attackers are frequently met with doubt, non-belief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have boundary and judgment problems which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This creates a predatory pathway and opportunity for the attack.
All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory methods that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators that are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate student.
Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s method. In a boarding school situation, a predator usually works closely with small amounts of students, realizing every student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a victim is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – like loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, may be systematically exploited in the following ways:
Trust
A predator might initially work to get the student’s trust. This step is the most difficult to discern as private school communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction is commonplace. Here, the attacker is likely part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellness and achievement at the school.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student might begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever 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 like the guarantee of higher marks, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is usually when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.
Isolation
While the grooming continues, the predator will try to isolate the potential victim. At school, this might mean after-hour meetings, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dormitory , one-on-one sports training sessions, or various other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other actions which lead to sexual interaction. This may begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive language to determine the victim’s response to the advancement. This could escalate until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator may try to keep control over the student and the continuing abuse. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the student by inducing emotions of shame, or even threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator might continue to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to keep the immoral physical relationship.
Impacts on Abuse Survivors
While the grooming escalates as planned by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will likely respond positively to the actions. The predator, from these well planned and performed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-calibrate and remove the moral confines of the victim. Since 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, after the abuse has been reported, survivors of private school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, isolation from their peers, or retaliation from administrators. Especially at boarding schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be fierce and social circles small, survivors of abuse may be rapidly isolated and socially abused. Subjected to such reactions, many private school abuse victims who have reported the abuse leave school. Others, fighting with the prospect of the isolation and social persecution, report the abuse a while later. In either case, the impact can be significant and life-altering.
Some abuse victims deal with 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 help victims overcome those effects.
Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may recover financial compensation from the predator and more commonly, 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 replying to the survivor’s report of the abuse. If you are a survivor of boarding school abuse and would like to confidentially review your situation and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are ready to speak with you. It is important for a victim to realize that being a victim is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the abuse to justice.
Student-on-student sexual assault is another type of abuse, that may be made worse by the school’s failure to provide a safe environment that allowed the assault to happen. Inside the school community are students of varying ages, maturity and experiences. school abuse lawsuit may be exposed to the predatory behavior of older, more experienced students. This actions, along with peer-pressure exerted on both the predator and the targeted victim, might lead to different types of abuse that includes sexual assault of varying degrees.
In all reported Boarding School Assault matters, a school administration’s failure to completely, immediately report the assault to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further negligence to investigate, address and deal completely with the matter amplifies the effects on the abuse survivor, the school population and potentially others. Recent Boarding School Abuse cases reported in the media exemplify these failures, including situations when the perpetrator quietly departs the school merely to assume employment elsewhere in a school environment.
Predatory Behavior
Many private schools pride themselves on their small, personal communities inside a well-defined and safe campus. In this environment, faculty, administrators and staff are frequently much closer and familiar with students than would be expected in a non-boarding school situation. This can provide both opportunity and cover to the possible abuser and for the predatory behavior.
In some matters, the abuser may be a likeable and popular individual, generally considered to be a enhancement to the school community. A targeted victim may feel flattered that a popular superior in the school community has expressed special interest in him or her. Because of this popularity and involvement into the school community, abuse accusations against these attackers are frequently met with doubt, non-belief, and resistance by the community. Often, abusers have boundary and judgment problems which turn into unusually friendly relationships with students that are past what are commonly anticipated. This creates a predatory pathway and opportunity for the attack.
All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory methods that are generally referred to as “grooming,” or targeting a potential abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators that are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate student.
Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s method. In a boarding school situation, a predator usually works closely with small amounts of students, realizing every student’s needs and vulnerabilities. Once a victim is located and selected, these vulnerabilities – like loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, or attention seeking behavior, may be systematically exploited in the following ways:
Trust
A predator might initially work to get the student’s trust. This step is the most difficult to discern as private school communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction is commonplace. Here, the attacker is likely part of a group of staff who are genuinely interested in the student’s wellness and achievement at the school.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting engagement with the potential student-victim, the student might begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever 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 like the guarantee of higher marks, or a college recommendation letter. The reliance stage is usually when the predatory behavior is distinguishable from well-meaning collegial behavior.
Isolation
While the grooming continues, the predator will try to isolate the potential victim. At school, this might mean after-hour meetings, tutoring sessions, meetings in the dormitory , one-on-one sports training sessions, or various other such circumstances.
Sexualization
The predator will begin to de-sensitize the possible victim from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and other actions which lead to sexual interaction. This may begin with breaching the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive language to determine the victim’s response to the advancement. This could escalate until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator may try to keep control over the student and the continuing abuse. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the student by inducing emotions of shame, or even threats, or use the opposite strategy of continuing to make the victim feel special and desired. In any event, the predator might continue to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to keep the immoral physical relationship.
Impacts on Abuse Survivors
While the grooming escalates as planned by the predator, the targeted student, being made to feel special, will likely respond positively to the actions. The predator, from these well planned and performed grooming behaviors and activities, tries to re-calibrate and remove the moral confines of the victim. Since 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, after the abuse has been reported, survivors of private school abuse are frequently subjected to discreet social pressure and intimidation, like bullying, isolation from their peers, or retaliation from administrators. Especially at boarding schools, where education is rigorous, competition can be fierce and social circles small, survivors of abuse may be rapidly isolated and socially abused. Subjected to such reactions, many private school abuse victims who have reported the abuse leave school. Others, fighting with the prospect of the isolation and social persecution, report the abuse a while later. In either case, the impact can be significant and life-altering.
Some abuse victims deal with 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 help victims overcome those effects.
Legally, a survivor of boarding school abuse may recover financial compensation from the predator and more commonly, 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 replying to the survivor’s report of the abuse. If you are a survivor of boarding school abuse and would like to confidentially review your situation and learn of your legal options at no cost or obligation, we are ready to speak with you. It is important for a victim to realize that being a victim is not your fault. The attorneys at Meneo Law Group are committed to bringing those who committed the the abuse to justice.
