A position of trust is any position that requires its holder to enjoy the trust of those who elected or chose the holder. It is often used in a more restricted sense defined by an organization or by legislation.
One possible legal summary of a Position of Trust is a paid or volunteer position with one or more of the following responsibilities: access to vulnerable populations, property access, financial/fiduciary duty or executive positions.
According to one common definition, it is any position that has responsibility for "cash, keys, or kids (minors)". The concept of "keys" refers to security, including IT security and management.
According to another common definition, it is any position of authority over another person or within an organization, for example as a
supervisor
A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...
.
Crimes committed by a person in a position of
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
may be penalized more severely under the law, and those wishing to occupy positions of trust may be subject to special restrictions such as background checks.
Parties involved
A typical position of trust at the personal level involves
child custody
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the righ ...
or
power of attorney
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...
. The same would be true for the five standard professions; medicine, law, finance, education and engineering. Any regulated profession dealing with the health and safety of others usually requires certification and licensing and would be a position of trust. The same would be true in the hierarchy of relationships involved in education, employment, financial matters and government.
Sexual relations
In the United Kingdom, the
Sexual Offences Act 2000 prohibits a person in a position of trust from performing sexual acts with someone who cannot consent, which includes minors and "very vulnerable people". This is primarily used for the protection of young people who are above the
age of consent
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...
but under the age of 18 and for the protection of people with mental disabilities. Only after a person is no longer in a position of trust may they pursue a sexual relationship with a person previously entrusted to them. Similarly, molestation by a person in a position of trust is also a criminal offence in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
punishable by imprisonment.
In the Netherlands,
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
itself is not prosecutable, but if an adult commits incest with a family member that is a minor, the adult can be prosecuted for abusing his/her position of trust. The adult family member does not have to be biologically related to the minor to be prosecutable for this offence. The relevant legislation also applies to adults who are family members only by marriage.
See also
*
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
*
Misplaced loyalty
Misplaced loyalty (or mistaken loyalty, misguided loyalty or misplaced trust) is loyalty placed in other persons or organisations where that loyalty is not acknowledged, is not respected, is betrayed, or is taken advantage of. It can also mean lo ...
*
Profession
A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...
*
Professional abuse Professional abuse is "a pattern of conduct in which a person abuses, violates, or takes advantage of a victim within the context of the abuser's profession." This typically involves a violation of the relevant professional organization's code of et ...
*
Professional ethics
Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals.
The word professionalism originally applied to vows of a religious order. By no later than the year 1675, the term had seen secular applic ...
*
Professional responsibility
Professional responsibility is a set of duties within the concept of professional ethics for those who exercise a unique set of knowledge and skill as professionals.
Professional responsibility applies to those professionals making judgments, a ...
*
Supervisor
A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...
References
External links
As defined in UK laws on sex offenses
{{Authority control
Legal ethics
Legal terminology