Abuse survivors’ experiences vital to understanding impact of boarding school abuse
Leigh Day partner Dino Nocivelli, who features in a new documentary about boarding school abuse, says survivors must be heard for society to understand the abuse that takes place in boarding schools and the impact it can have.
Posted on 23 April 2025
The Guardian has reported on the experiences of seven survivors of boarding school abuse who feature in the recently released documentary Boarding on Insanity. The seven survivors spoke about their experiences in boarding school and how that has impacted the rest of their lives.
One survivor was physically assaulted by a teacher when they were seven years old. Another was so afraid of returning to boarding school whenever she went away she had to be tranquilized for the journey back.
Survivor Piers Cross, who was sexually abused as a teenager at boarding school, is now a coach who supports ex-boarding school pupils. He brought survivors and experts together for the Boarding on Insanity documentary to shine a light on boarding school abuse and the impact that may have had on former pupils – including world leaders.
Partner in Leigh Day’s abuse team Dino Nocivelli was one of the experts in the documentary. Dino specialises in actions for child sexual abuse survivors and is a legal ambassador for boarding school abuse organisation Seen and Heard.
Dino said: “Hearing the lived experience of survivors is vital if we are to fully understand the abuse that can happen in boarding schools.
“I was glad to work with Piers on his Boarding on Insanity documentary and I sincerely hope that people will take notice of survivors’ experiences and how the abuse they went through as a child has impacted the rest of their lives.”
Dino Nocivelli
Dino is an experienced child sexual abuse claims lawyer
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