Prejudice, friendship and the abuse of disabled people: an exploration into the concept of exploitative familiarity (‘mate crime’)

Abstract

Exploitative familiarity (‘mate crime’) is a recently-identified phenomenon. Available evidence suggests that exploitative familiarity has a significant impact on the lives of some disabled people, not only in terms of the breadth of offences committed using this form of insidious exploitation but also because of the potential grave consequences. Often, isolated disabled people are victimised in their homes by locals who may use the effects of victims’ impairments to manipulate and betray purported friendships. Exploitation can continue unchecked, particularly where there is lack of institutional involvement. Based on a case study of police records and drawing upon the fields of hate crime and disability studies, this article provides an explanation of how and why exploitative familiarity occurs. The evidence appears to suggest that oppression and stigmatisation of disabled people lead to relational disadvantages such as poverty and isolation. However, it is the ‘individual vulnerability’ of victims which directly influences targeting.

Keywords:

• exploitative familiarity
• hate crime
• impairment effects
• ‘mate crime’
• vulnerability

Acknowledgements

Thanks to ‘Alpha Police’ and the anonymous members of the public. Special thanks to Professor Mark Priestley and to Dr Andrea Hollomotz. Thanks also to Professor Alan Roulstone, Professor Anna Lawson, Dr Ana Manzano and Dr Alison Sheldon, all of the University of Leeds, and to Professor Neil Chakraborti, University of Leicester.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 For this reason, the alternative term ‘exploitative familiarity’ is used whenever appropriate throughout this article.

2 Statutory agencies are required to conduct SCRs ‘when an adult in its area dies as a result of abuse or neglect’ (Department of Health 2017, 14.162).

3 An incident is recorded when ‘a single distinct event or occurrence … disturbs an individual’s, group’s or community’s quality of life or causes them concern’ (National Policing Improvement Agency 2011, 4). The United Kingdom’s biggest force, the Metropolitan Police, records approximately 21,000 incidents per day on average (Metropolitan Police 2016).

4 Each of the 62 cases was randomly allocated a reference between MCI/1 and MCI/62. Where appropriate, detail has been removed to avoid identification.

5 A so-called form of exploitative familiarity whereby a perpetrator takes up regular occupancy of a disabled person’s home, appearing to offer help, but really with the intention of getting access to food, clothes, drugs or benefits (Sykes, Groom, and Desai 2011).

6 Where appropriate, V refers to victim and S to suspect.

Additional information

Funding

This research was kindly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ES/J500215/1].