There are several characteristics that predispose one to becoming a victim. These characteristics range from a person’s sex, age, social status, marital status and race. It’s hard to imagine these factors play a major role in one’s future victimization. Some characteristics act alone or can be combined with others to strengthen the chances of a crime to a person.

A person’s gender plays an important role in one becoming a victim. For instance, females are more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted. Also, females are more likely to know their attackers whereas males do not. This is in part due to the female’s choice in relationship partners. Males are more likely to be victims of more violent crimes. Perhaps this is due to males being viewed as the masculine gender. Males are more likely to fight for their property, freedom, friends and/or family.

Two other factors playing into a person’s predisposition is their age and marital status. Younger individuals are more likely to be victims of violent crime than older individuals. Younger people are “out and about” in public at all hours of the day and night. This gives them greater exposure to being a target. Older folks tend to be in their homes early in the evening giving them less exposure to danger.

People that have never been married before tend to be at a greater risk of victimization. These individuals stay out late at night with no cares in the world. They have no children or responsibilities to go home to; therefore they stay out late in prime crime time. Widows are less likely to be victimized mainly due to their cautious state of mind and routines. They are always on the lookout for danger since there is no one to protect them.

Persons with a lower income are more likely to be victims of violent & property crimes. These people live in lower income neighborhoods and their peers steal to make money off of their items. Violence runs through these neighborhoods due to the stress of not having enough money to eat, pay bills or enjoy luxuries. Wealthy people are mainly victims of personal theft crime. These items include vehicles and jewelry because they bring good money for a thief.

Minorities experience a higher crime rate than those of the white race. They are usually unequally paid compared to their white counterparts and not treated the same. Society’s views and myths on their race are usually to blame. Minorities are usually viewed as not being equal to their white counterparts due in part to the history of slavery.

In conclusion, there are characteristics that predispose a person to becoming a victim of crime. Sex, age, social status, marital status and race are the main players in determining one’s fate with crime. Identifying one’s characteristics and changing habits may be one way a person can be safe.

This article is original content written by Tanya L. See. Reproduction of this content maybe used on any website as long as it is copied in it's entirety and credit is given to Tanya L. See and a link to her website, www.tanyasee.com , is included