October 22, 2025
Professor Susan Edwards ( RLC Associate Tenant) of Northumbria University has written an article for Counsel Magazine where she explores the Sean Combs trial in the US and broader issues of intimate partner abuse emphasizing the role of expert witnesses in legal proceedings. In the article she examines how:
-Sean Combs’ defence team reframed his abusive behaviour and “freak offs” as consensual “swingers” lifestyle, using text messages and performative language to argue girlfriend Cassie Ventura’s complicity. This tactic mirrors other cases where victims’ consent was misrepresented, such as the trial of Grime artist Andy Anokye.
-Expert witness Dawn Hughes was called to give evidence. She had also been instructed by the prosecution in the R Kelly sex trafficking case, the Weinstein rape and sexual assault case and in the Heard-Depp defamation case. Ms Hughes testified broadly on coercive control, helping jurors understand the psychological dynamics of abuse. Her testimony was challenged by the defence but ultimately allowed, highlighting the contested role of experts in abuse cases.
-Legal reform is urgently needed, including better training for legal professionals, revised jury directions and updates to self-defence laws to reflect the realities of coercive control.
Read full piece here: Combs, intimate partner abuse and the expert witness | COUNSEL | The Magazine of the Bar of England and Wales