Introduction: Interrogating Harm and Abuse: A Lifespan Approach

At any time any person faces a possibility of suffering harm from another, and the broad criminal justice framework aims to provide a general level of protection from such harms to the whole population. However, possibilities of abuse, exploitation or neglect are conceptualised as more likely for certain people. These include those in intimate partner relationships, or those whose level of dependency on others is greater as a result of life stage or impairment. Specific legal and policy measures aim to address potential harm in such situations, and are proliferating. For several decades, the general acceptance that the state in most developed countries has a legitimate role in protecting some potential victims of abuse, notably women and children, has been underpinned by an extensive legislative and bureaucratic framework. More recently, the focus of state concern has broadened to include people considered at heightened risk of harm due to impairment or older age. Evolving legislative and bureaucratic protective responses often parallel those already in place for children. Examples include the requirement in England and Wales by October 2001 for all local authorities to develop inter-agency adult protection procedures governing investigation of and responses to concerns about adult abuse; and in Scotland, the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, provides measures to protect adults who are believed to be at risk of harm. These include rights of entry to places where adults are thought to be at risk of harm, a range of protection orders including assessment, removal of the adult at risk, and banning of the person causing the harm from contact with them; and supporting the creation of multi-disciplinary adult protection committees. The evidence base for these policy developments, as well as for legislation on domestic violence and child abuse which preceded them, has been fragmented. Critical analysis has seldom moved beyond the boundaries of each, with diverse research streams. In the 1970s, recognition of ‘family’ violence as a social problem began to be acknowledged, but with a focus on a range of groups (including children, intimate female partners and older people); not surprisingly, research endeavours, practice responses and analysis likewise became fractured. The 1980s and 1990s saw the further development of separate strands of research on child abuse, domestic abuse and elder abuse, with abuse of other groups, such as adults with disabilities, significantly neglected. Whilst there are key conceptual developments in each area, there has been remarkably little cross-fertilization of ideas, with each field thus failing to learn from the insights of others. For example, state intervention for the protection of children in the UK has been informed since the