Sexual abuse is unfortunately a plague which spans all
corners of the globe, all sexes and all socio-economic classes. That being said,
those who have a pre-existing vulnerability can often find themselves the
target of a perpetrator more often than others. From the poor fatherless
boy in the parish to the already anxiety ridden teenager at the high school,
these represent “targets” to offenders. Even adults in difficult phases of their lives,
such as martial breakdown or a health crisis, can be vulnerable to abuse.
In both a criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit, vulnerability
can assist in proving that there was an abuse or an exploitation. The
abuser and the victim are not on a level playing field so the consent or
permission to engage in the sexual activity is more easily questioned. Think
about how you would feel about a 40-year-old teacher trying to justify a
“relationship” with an 18-year-old grade 12 student. Add to that a pre-existing
mental health problem or life crisis and we all know that the situation is not
truly one of consent to sexual relations. So, in providing guilt or liability,
pre-existing vulnerabilities are of assistance.
When it comes to compensation in a civil lawsuit, the law
offers two different approaches to dealing with pre-existing vulnerabilities.
The two terms for each approach give you an idea of the argument which follows;
(a) crumbling skull or (b) thin skull.
The crumbling skull approach is often taken up
by the defence because it views the pre-existing vulnerabilities as conditions
which are bound to get worse and likely put the victim in the same poor state,
regardless of whether the assault occurred or not. This is the argument that
the person “was bound to end up that way” because the skull would have
crumbled to that state on its own. This theory works to minimize the effect of
the assault and reduce the compensation owed by the defendant(s).
The thin skull is more helpful to a victim in
that it concludes that these vulnerabilities have to be taken into account in
how the abuse impacted them. This approach factors in that vulnerable victims
are less equipped to deal with the effects and therefore, those effects will be
even severe in a vulnerable person. I often argue that it is akin to poking out
the eye of the one-eyed man, in that this victim had limited abilities already
and the abuse limited those further making life even more difficult. There is a
related legal maxim that “you take your victim as you find them” in
other words, the perpetrator is responsible for the conditions they aggravate.
These are complicated legal and factual debates within civil lawsuits for sexual assault and abuse, and the best approach is to ensure that you have experienced lawyers representing you. The team at Beckett Personal Injury Lawyers have extensive experience in this realm and stand ready to aid the most vulnerable amongst us. Stay safe out there and if misfortune does befall you, give us a call.
Published on October 11, 2024
