Violent Crime - a Victim of Violent Crime

throughout society?

Violent crime refers to a variety of crimes that include sexual assault, homicide, robbery, kidnapping and assault. This essay will show that the risk of being a victim of violent crime is not evenly distributed throughout society. Violent crime victimization is clustered within certain groups of people, so the likelihood of becoming a victim depends on different factors, including gender, age and Indigenous status. Depending on the persons gender and age they will be more or less likely to experience different types of violent crime, while being Indigenous directly increases the risk of becoming a victim.

Despite many believing females are the main victims of violent crime, both males and females experience it. However, males and females have different rates of being a victim of differing types of violent crime. For example, females are more likely to be victims of sexual assault and rape. This is demonstrated in a report conducted by the Australia Bureau of Statistics in 2016, where they found that 86% of sexual assault victims were female [ABS, 2017]. Comparatively males are more likely to be victims of homicide and assault shown in a report by Crime Statistics Australia, stating that between 2012–14 64% of homicide victims were male [CSA, 2017], and the majority of victims of physical assault were male as found by Crime Statistics Australia [CSA, 2017].

Another factor that influences the risk of becoming a victim of violent crime is age. Depending on the type of violent crime certain age groups are more likely to experience these crimes. Statistics from Crime Statistics Australia show that from 2011–16 the most at risk group to be physically assaulted are people aged 25–34 [CSA, 2017] . Similarly, in 2016 the most at risk groups for robbery and kidnapping are people aged 25–34 years old [CSA, 2017]. Sexual assault victims are most likely to be aged from 10–14