Victim is a person who suffers direct physical, emotional or financial harm as a result of an offence committed by a criminal. The term can also be used to refer to an individual who is a legal lawful representative of a crime victim or to any entity that is legally recognized as a victim of a crime, such as an employer or an insurance company.
Despite the negative connotations associated with victimhood, humans have evolved to empathize with and help suffering people. As a result, claiming victim status can yield resources including attention, sympathy, social status and money. Victims also gain a sense of legitimacy or psychological standing to speak on certain issues. The benefits of victimhood can be so strong that they incentivize people to signal their victimhood, even if the suffering they describe is fake or exaggerated.
New research reveals that those who frequently virtue-signal their victimhood (whether real, exaggerated or false) are more likely to lie for material gain and denigrate others as means to get ahead. These patterns may be related to narcissism, Machiavellianism and other morally undesirable personality traits.
For more information about the role victims can play in ICC proceedings, including how to apply for participation and reparations, please click here. Some individuals prefer to use the term survivor rather than victim when describing their experiences with abuse. The choice of terms is largely determined by the individual and reflects personal preferences, such as whether they want to emphasise their strength and resilience or their ability to move beyond the trauma they have suffered.
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