Victimisation is the process or experience through which a person, group, organisation or community suffers harm as a result of criminal or otherwise harmful conduct. In criminology, the term can refer to a specific incident, repeated experiences of harm or broader patterns affecting particular populations. Victimisation may involve physical injury, psychological trauma, financial loss, property damage, sexual harm, intimidation, exploitation, identity theft or other consequences depending on the offence.
The concept is broader than the simple existence of a criminal offence because it focuses attention on the effects experienced by those harmed. Victimisation can be direct, where a person is personally targeted, or indirect, where people experience consequences because someone close to them or their wider community has been victimised.
Victimisation patterns are studied through official crime records, victimisation surveys, self report research, medical records and other sources of information. Official statistics record only incidents that enter particular institutional systems, meaning they can underestimate offences that victims do not report or that authorities do not record. Victimisation surveys attempt to identify incidents directly from members of the public and can therefore reveal a larger amount of crime than police records alone.
However, surveys also have limitations because respondents may forget incidents, misunderstand questions or be unable to report certain experiences. Researchers consequently compare multiple sources to develop more complete pictures of victimisation. The gap between actual victimisation and officially recorded crime is sometimes described as the dark figure of crime, although the size of this gap varies considerably between offences and populations.
Repeat victimisation occurs when the same person, household, organisation or location experiences victimisation more than once. Repeated incidents may occur because underlying risk factors remain unchanged, because offenders return to known targets or because particular environments provide recurring opportunities for offending. Repeat victimisation is important for prevention because interventions aimed at changing immediate conditions may reduce multiple incidents affecting the same target. For example, improved security, environmental design, safeguarding procedures or protective support can sometimes reduce exposure to repeated harm. However, repeat victimisation should not be interpreted as evidence that the victim caused the crime. It indicates a pattern requiring explanation, which may involve offender behaviour, environmental conditions, social relationships or institutional weaknesses.
Victimisation can be influenced by opportunity structures and routine activities. People encounter different levels of exposure to potential offenders and different levels of protection depending on their work, travel, housing, social relationships and use of technology. Businesses operating at night, people working with cash, households in poorly secured properties and individuals with highly visible online identities may encounter particular forms of exposure, although exposure does not imply inevitable victimisation.
Social and economic inequality can also affect vulnerability because people with fewer resources may have less ability to relocate, purchase security measures, obtain legal assistance or recover from financial losses. Victimisation therefore emerges through interactions between offenders, targets, environments and broader social conditions rather than through individual characteristics alone.
The consequences of Victimisation can extend well beyond the immediate incident. Physical injuries may require medical treatment, while psychological consequences can include fear, anxiety, sleep disruption, loss of trust and other forms of distress. Financial losses can create debt or housing insecurity, while victimisation in workplaces or educational settings can lead to withdrawal from employment or education. Family members may also experience indirect consequences when a relative is harmed.
The severity and duration of effects vary considerably between individuals and offences. Recovery can depend on social support, access to services, financial resources, institutional responses and the victim's perception of safety. This means that the impact of crime cannot always be inferred from the formal classification of an offence alone.
Reporting decisions form an important part of Victimisation research. Victims may choose not to report because they fear retaliation, believe the incident is too minor, feel shame, distrust authorities, lack evidence, regard the offender as someone close to them or believe that reporting will not produce a useful outcome. Some offences are particularly underreported because victims anticipate stigma or disbelief. Reporting behaviour can therefore affect official crime statistics and the apparent prevalence of particular offences.
Improving reporting systems can involve accessible channels, confidentiality, specialist services and respectful treatment, although increasing reporting can initially make recorded crime appear to rise because more incidents enter official statistics. A rise in recorded offences therefore does not necessarily mean that actual victimisation has increased by the same amount.
Victimisation also has an institutional dimension because responses by police, courts, healthcare providers, employers, schools and social services can affect outcomes. Appropriate responses can provide protection, information and access to support, while dismissive or confusing responses can increase distress and discourage future reporting. Secondary victimisation can occur when victims feel blamed, ignored or repeatedly required to recount traumatic experiences without adequate support. Institutional design therefore matters as much as individual attitudes. Procedures for reporting, evidence collection, communication, compensation and protection can influence whether victims feel recognised and safe. This is one reason Victimology considers not only the initial offence but also the subsequent social and institutional processes through which victims navigate its consequences.
Victimisation is significant because it provides a victim centred way of understanding crime and its distribution. It shows that crime statistics represent institutional records of events rather than complete measurements of all harmful experiences. Analysis of victimisation can identify high risk contexts, repeat patterns, underreported offences and groups requiring particular prevention or support. At the same time, victimisation research must avoid deterministic assumptions and victim blaming. Risk factors describe patterns of exposure and vulnerability; they do not transfer responsibility for criminal conduct from offenders to victims. A comprehensive understanding therefore combines information about offending, environmental opportunity, social inequality, reporting behaviour, institutional responses and consequences for those harmed.
