Vulnerability and Sexual Assault Law

This book critiques the autonomy-based theoretical foundations of the legal response to sexual offences. To do so it examines the legal treatment of incapacitated rape victims arguing that the autonomous foundations have created a hierarchal response that forces individuals to be responsible for avoiding harm. The book uses vulnerability theory in two innovative ways. It challenges the foundations of the autonomous liberal legal subject in sexual offences, and it suggests a new sexual offence based on a vulnerability lens. Through this understanding of vulnerability, it argues that an autonomy-based approach is at the core of the inadequate response to sexual assault complainants. It therefore encourages readers to rethink what we know about what it means to be human, how we view sexual offences, and how we treat incapacitated complainants. The book blends theory and policy to offer new and holistic ways to rethink our response to sexual offences and challenges the formulation of the subjective nature of consent and sexual assault. The book will be of interest to researchers, academics and policymakers working in the areas of criminal justice, criminology, gender studies and social policy.