Explain How Anyone Can Become A Victim Of Crime

Anyone can become a victim of crime. A victim of crime can include anyone who suffers emotional or physical harm, or damage or loss of property as direct result of a criminal offence (). The Victims Right and Support Act 2013 defines a victim of crime as a person who suffers harm as a direct result of a criminal offence (NSW Government & Justice Victims Services, n.d.).

Victims of crime may suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and other mental health illnesses. Crime victims show much higher rates of PTSD than individuals who have not been victimized by crime. Research shows that 25% of crime victims experienced lifetime PTSD and 9.7% had current PTSD, compared to rates of

9.4& lifetime PTSD and 3.4% current PTSD for noncrime victims. Rape victims are 6.2 times more likely to develop PTSD than women who have never been victims of crime. 26.5% of women and 12.6% of men who were molested developed PTSD later in life. 11% of students in New York City had PTSD six months after the September 11th attacks, which is 5 times the rate of PTSD found in students outside of NYC. Molestation victims have significantly higher rates of major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and sexual disorders than their age-matched counterparts. Women with a history of childhood sexual abuse tend to become depressed at an earlier age and are more likely to attempt suicide and to engage in deliberate self-harm compared to depressed women who were not exposed to childhood sexual abuse. In a national study of adult women, 55% of aggravated assault victims met the diagnostic criteria for major depression. Rape victims were three times more likely than non-victims of crime to have ever had a major depressive episode. Battered women are five times more likely to attempt suicide, fifteen times more likely to abuse alcohol, four times more likely to abuse drugs, and three times more likely to be diagnosed as depressed or psychotic. 94.4% of 391 women meeting criteria for panic disorder were found to have a history of victimization. Among immediate family members of homicide victims, 23.3% developed PTSD at some point in their lives. Homicide survivors also experience elevated levels of depression and anxiety compared to the general population