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Improving access to justice for older victims of crime by reimagining conceptions of vulnerability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2020

Kevin J. Brown Open the ORCID record for Kevin J. Brown [Opens in a new window]  and
Faith Gordon
Kevin J. Brown*
Affiliation:
School of Law, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
Faith Gordon
Affiliation:
School of Law, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Information Law and Policy Centre, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London, UK Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster, London, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article investigates the implications of recent research findings that establish that older victims of crime are less likely to obtain procedural justice than other age groups. It explores original empirical data from the United Kingdom that finds evidence of a systemic failure amongst agencies to identify vulnerability in the older population and to put in place appropriate support mechanisms to allow older victims to participate fully in the justice system. The article discusses how the legally defined gateways to additional support, which are currently relied upon by many common law jurisdictions, disadvantage older victims and require reimagining. It argues that international protocols, especially the current European Union Directive on victims’ rights, are valuable guides in this process of re-conceptualisation. To reduce further the inequitable treatment of older victims, the article advocates for jurisdictions to introduce a presumption in favour of special assistance for older people participating in the justice system.

Keywords

crimeelder abusejusticespecial measuresvictimsvulnerability
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , March 2022 , pp. 614 - 631
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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