News

Academic reacts to Derby fire trial

(3 April 2013)

Dr Thom Brooks

Dr Thom Brooks, of Durham Law School, has studied polygamy and polyamory.
Here he examines some of the issues behind the unusual domestic arrangements of Mick and Mairead Philpott, who together with their friend, Paul Moseley, were convicted of manslaughter after starting a fire at the Philpott family home in Derby. The blaze killed six children.

Dr Brooks said: “Polyamory probably best describes the relationship between Mick Philpott, his wife Mairead and his ‘former mistress’ Lisa Willis.

“Polyamory is different from polygamy in that the former is a lifestyle involving three or more people in a relationship together, but the latter often seeks the public and legal recognition of marriage – with its benefits.

“Polyamory is no less problematic than polygamy. Polyamory, in practice, is indistinguishable from polygamy – both almost always have one man at the centre and two female partners on the periphery.

“Both practices should be understood in terms of unequal power between men and women. What brings people together into polyamorous relationships may often not be purely sexual, but rather companionship or sharing caring roles in a large family.

“We need not oppose polygamy or polyamory because they are non-traditional, but we should be concerned about the inequality between men and women that both perpetuate and the known problems for women, children and men.”

* The Problem of Polygamy, by Thom Brooks, was published in Philosophical Topics 37(2) in 2009.

Dr Thom Brooks is Reader in Law at Durham Law School, Durham University. thom.brooks@durham.ac.uk