Policy background Meaning of a victim
Part 1 of the Act relates to victims of crime, in contrast to Part 2 which relates to victims of major incidents. The Act uses the term ‘victim’ although the Government recognises that the term ‘complainant’ may be used to describe a person who has made a criminal allegation to the police, and that some people prefer to identify themselves as a ‘survivor’.
	The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 put in place certain measures for victims of crime. It made clear that a person could still be a victim of crime for the purposes of that Act regardless of whether anyone had been charged with or convicted of an offence.
	The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 also required the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice as to the services to be provided to victims of criminal conduct (the Victims’ Code). More detail was set out in the Victims’ Code itself about who came under this definition for the purposes of the Code. The Code’s definition recognised that a person can suffer harm that was directly caused by a crime without being the direct subject of that crime, such as families bereaved by homicide. It also made clear that a person could be considered a victim of crime, regardless of whether they had reported it to the police, in order to access support services.
	The approach that has been taken in relation to the meaning of a victim of crime in this Act reflects that wider definition.