Current Handling of Sexual Abuse at Exeter
There is general concensus among health professionals that it is important to get ongoing care for the profound trauma of sexual abuse, and that the need for care is compounded when the initial, immediate response is doubt and defensiveness. Questioning by the school is not necessarily unreasonable, but the impact on survivors is real and needs to be acknowledged. Although the school offers reimbursement for therapy, because this amount is capped at $10,000, it cannot be stretched to cover longer-term therapy, which can cost between $60 and $200 per session depending on your location and insurance status. Specific modalities for PTSD can be more, and medication, if needed, also costs money. Some survivors have needed in-patient treatment. Beyond the direct costs of care, there are many indirect costs in areas such as lost work.
Survivors who have needed and sought more financial support risk further trauma during the current structure for the mediation process. [Needing to hire a lawyer and legally prove harm is something difficult and demeaning especially when the wrongful acts by teachers are often known to the school, and survivor’s being met with the school’s aggressive defense can actually recreate the dehumanizing harm and a sense of revictimization.] Many survivors are not ready for the confrontation with the academy’s legal team, and some who have been through the mediation process have found it to be an expensive and distressing experience that further eroded their dignity and self-worth—the very qualities in most need of repair.