Gender and Victimization: A Global Analysis of Vulnerability

Introduction

The major concern recently on the research of victimization is the gender differences in the vulnerability of the victims. While males make–up the larger proportion of the crime victims, females account for considerable shares of both offenders and victims (Selmini&McElrath, 2014).At the individual level, victimization is common among young unmarried males with low self-esteem and who have been victimized in the past(Truman, & Langton, 2014, Holtfreter, Reisig, & Pratt, 2008). Males are likely to involve in risky lifestyles such as stealing, getting drunk in public places, selling drugs and hanging out with friends who are criminally minded. This makes victimization to be highly concentrated within the adolescent (Truman, & Langton, 2014). Risky behaviour and delinquent are more among the adolescent, as they spent much of their hours with peers outside homes. It was also believed that perceptions of victimization vary depending on the dimension and whose report is being considered. For example, Makepeace (1986) argued that females normally reported a serious crime of violence done to them, being the principal victim and sustaining sexual assault, physical injury, and emotional trauma while males rarely reported sexual assault. The risks of victimization are also distributed by social structure and the highest rates of victimization are suffered by those with low status, little power, and limited economic resources.