patterns of victimisation

• age

  • Younger people are at more risk of victimisation.
  • infants - Those most at risk of being murdered are infants under one,
  • teenagers - are more vulnerable than adults to offences including assault, sexual harassment, theft, and abuse at home.
  • The old - also at risk of abuse, for example in care homes, where victimisation is less visible, but in general, the risk of victimisation declines with age.
• ethnicity

  • Minority ethnic groups are at greater risk than White people of being victims of crime in general, as well as of racially motivated crimes. (crime survey for England and Wales)
  • In relation to the police, minority ethnic groups, the young and the homeless are more likely to report feeling under-protected yet over-controlled.
• gender

  • Males are at greater risk than females of becoming victims of violent attacks, especially by strangers.
  • About 70% of homicide victims are male.
  • However, women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking and harassment, people trafficking and – in times of armed conflict – mass rape as a weapon of war.
• secondary victimisation

  • the idea that in addition to the impact of the crime itself, individuals may suffer further victimisation at the hands of the criminal justice system.
  • Feminists argue that rape victims are often so poorly treated by the police and the courts, it amounts to a double violation.