A child’s time at school should be a sacred experience to look back on positively.

Boarding school pupils talk about unbreakable bonds built with pupils when away from family in those young years. Often pupils can start at a school at 4 years old and continue through to 18.

House masters, matrons and teachers all take on more pastoral care roles especially in boarding school environments, when pupils are away from loved ones very young.

Sadly, what can come with this position of trust, is abuse of this power.  We continue to see criminal convictions and civil claims following sexual abuse by staff members whilst is the school environment.

Disclosure

There are often significant delays in reporting abuse to the police. Often the perpetrator is a valued member of staff and the pupil is likely to have been subject to a period of grooming or blackmail, that other children will know about their sexuality, that they are ‘gay’ or other repercussions. There can be threats of violence, especially if the pupil is a boarder with no obvious escape.

Often a child will wrongly believe they are the only one, so they wrongly blame themselves the abuse was in some way their fault.

Disclosure is a major step but we would encourage anyone reading this to come forward as soon as possible. If this is someone suffering at the point of reading this, there should be an appointed safeguarding officer within the school.  There are specific charities that can assist, including Childline and Rape Crisis which is a 24 hour support line.

Research shows, the average person takes over two decades to disclose sexual abuse, and often men are in the minority when it comes to disclosure. Sexual abuse statistics are deemed to be only the tip of the iceberg with many people never reporting their experiences.

It is important to note that sexual abuse can happen to anyone, and perpetrators can be both male and female.

Even when the abuse occurred decades previously, convictions may still be possible if the abuser is alive. Sadly, it is often when a teacher or member of staff is convicted and named in the press, do other survivors come forward showing the true extent of the abuse.

Civil claims v criminal cases

On reporting to the police, if the CPS believe that the case has significant prospects to proceed to a conviction, the abuser would be charged and a trial listed if an admission is not made by the abuser. The ultimately goal is for the abuser to be convicted and receive a heavy prison sentence.

However, even after a criminal conviction, for many survivors, this still leaves them in a position they would not have been in but for the abuse and suffering financially. 

Each case is based on its own facts, but because of the abuse, someone’s education may have been derailed, not reaching employment potential in addition to other losses such as therapy costs that may have been incurred over the years.

Wider impact can include trouble socialising, working with peers/authority, family dynamics or romantic relationships and anxiety in relation to keeping your own children safe. Many clients have periods of reliance on drugs and/or alcohol as a way of escapism.

A civil claim can seek compensation against the organisation. If this is a state school, the claim would be brought the local authority who have responsibility for it.

If this is a private school, this can be more complicated, the claim would be brought against the school (depending on how the school is set up, such as against the Directors or trustees). If the school has been dissolved this can be more complex and would need to be investigated.

Regardless of whether the abuse was conducted at a private or public school, the school should hopefully have identifiable insurance to cover the value of the claim.

The other option would be to consider suing the abuser if they were financially viable, however this can have difficulties.

It is important to speak with a solicitor early to establish who the correct defendant would be.

Legal liability

One hurdle with civil claims is establishing who is liable to pay compensation for the abuse.

When the abuser was a teacher, or staff member with a pastoral role, such as house parent, there would be a two-stage test. The claim brought against the school would be based on vicarious liability.

Firstly, the abuser would need to be an employee of the organisation or in a role akin to employment. Secondly, the abuse would need to be closely linked to the role, for example if the abuse was by a teacher, that the survivor met the perpetrator in this role, and they came into contact due to the position at the school.

Until very recently, sexual abuse claims were required to be brought within three years or face being time barred. This was an outright defence to the claim. This has recently changed so that there is no time bar for sexual abuse claims, but importantly, if the defendant can successfully argue a fair trial couldn’t take place, the case could be refused to be heard by a civil court. Consideration would need to be given to whether key witnesses are no longer available (such as the perpetrator has died or has dementia) or key documents have been destroyed.

Therefore, it is vital that documents such as school records/reports etc are kept if possible and the abuse is reported to the police as soon as possible.

Procedure

Details of the claim would be set out in a document called a Letter before claim which is sent to the Defendant organisation. This would set out what has happened and the legal basis for bringing the claim. The Defendant would then have a set time frame to respond to the claim.

If a response is received with an admission, or willingness to engage in settlement, the case would then proceed along this route.

If liability was denied, civil court proceedings would need to be issued to set a court timetable. In reality, very few cases ever reach civil trials and settle before this.

At times, the survivor will seek an apology or meeting with the safeguarding officer in addition to compensation.

Valuation of claim/medical evidence

During the investigation period, your solicitor would prepare to value the claim by obtaining an independent medical report by a psychiatrist which would detail the impact of the abuse and whether this has resulted in a psychiatric injury.  As part of the claim compensation, the value for pain and suffering would be established based on the injury and the abuse suffered, this is called general damages.

The expert would also detail impact to education and career.  Therefore, had an individual been on track for one career but didn’t reach that potential, there could be a lifelong loss of earnings claim of the difference between the two careers. At times, the difference can run into £100,000’s +

In addition, the expert would outline future therapeutic needs that would be required, how many sessions and over what period. Again, this cost could be claimed.

A client has the option to have a male or female expert.  The expert would be provided with supporting records, such as GP, therapy, school records in addition to a client meeting in order to provide a report. The report would be reviewed with the client before being disclosed to the school/insurer.

Any losses flowing from the abuse including loss of earnings, therapy and any other documented losses (such as travel/self-harm coverage makeup) are called special damages.

Once the value of the claim has been established adding up general and special damages, the solicitor is in a position to advise the client of potential settlement value and commence negotiations with the Defendant.

Each case is dependent on the individual facts; therefore it is important to obtain legal advice as soon as possible further to the general review above.

Find out how Switalskis can help you

Every survivor of abuse deserves justice. That means holding perpetrators fully accountable, and it also means ensuring survivors are supported to reclaim their voice, rebuild their sense of control, and pursue the compensation they are entitled to for the harm they have suffered.

At Switalskis, our specialist abuse lawyers have decades of experience in representing survivors of child sexual exploitation. We understand that such cases are very emotional for clients and often legally complex, therefore we are dedicated to providing a supportive and professional environment in which our clients can feel confident in our services. We are committed to ensuring our clients receive the compensation they deserve.

If you have been impacted and would like to discuss your experience in confidence, our specialist abuse team   can help. Call 0800 1380 458  or email help@switalskis.com.