Power imbalance: Adult victims in the criminal justice system

DOI10.1177/0022018318814359
Published date01 February 2019
Date01 February 2019
Subject MatterEditorial
CLJ814359 3..5 Editorial
The Journal of Criminal Law
2019, Vol. 83(1) 3–5
Power imbalance: Adult victims
ª The Author(s) 2018
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in the criminal justice system
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DOI: 10.1177/0022018318814359
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Nicola Wake
Northumbria University, UK
Alan Reed
Northumbria University, UK
Grooming can be defined as the process that an abuser uses to desensitise someone – to make them less
like[ly] [sic] to reject or report abusive behaviour. Grooming can happen when there is a power differential
within a relationship, which the abuser exploits for their own gratification. This is most commonly recognised
as a tactic used by paedophiles, both on children and parents. However, adults can also be groomed.1
Children, and individuals with disabilities, and/or mental ill health are typically regarded as requiring
extralegal protection in a variety of contexts. The power imbalance between an adult and child, or an
adult without disability or recognised medical condition, and another adult with such disability or mental
ill health, may be used to justify the imposition of a greater level of protection.
The personal, social, cultural and economic factors viewed as rendering children innately vulnerable
decline with age, as does the legal protection afforded.2 For example, those over the age of 10 are
deemed capable of committing a criminal offence; they may consent to sexual activity at 16 and may
legally consume alcohol at the age of 18.
For adults, Fineman explains that legal theories are predominantly centred upon the notion of a
‘liberal subject’; an autonomous, competent adult with the capacity to choose, consent, and to perform
multiple social, economic, and personal roles simultaneously.3 These individuals remain protected from
a wide variety of harms(s) under the law, but the assumption of risk associated with power imbalances
across adult/child relationships is typically absent.
Nevertheless, there is growing recognition that...

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