Section 1 defines a "victim" for the purpose of this Part of the Act.
	Subsection (1) describes a victim as somebody who has been harmed by a crime and is the person against whom the crime is committed or somebody who fits into one or more of the categories in subsection (2).
	Subsection (2) captures other individuals who can be a victim for the purposes of this Part of the Act, if they have suffered harm, in addition to the person against whom the crime is committed. It includes:
	Those harmed as a result of witnessing criminal conduct, meaning those who see, hear, or directly experience the crime in live time.
	Individuals born as a result of rape or any sexual offence that can directly result in a pregnancy.
	Close family members of individuals killed by criminal conduct. This reflects the current Victims’ Code which specifies that bereaved families are victims for the purposes of the Code.
	A child under 18 years of age who sees, hears, or experiences the effects of domestic abuse which constitutes criminal conduct between adults (aged 16 and older). As set out in subsection (3), this is to be read in accordance with the definition of a victim of domestic abuse in Part 1 section 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.
	Subsection (4) defines:
"Harm" as including physical, mental or emotional harm (which captures both diagnosed and undiagnosed psychological condition or impacts on the person) and economic loss. This does not require the "harm" caused to the individual to be verified by another party, professional or otherwise; and,
"Criminal conduct" which means conduct which constitutes an offence in England and Wales, except for in relation to Section 27, where it covers conduct which constitutes an offence in the UK, because the Parliamentary Health Services Ombudsman is a UK-wide body.
	Subsection (5) confirms that a person can be a victim of criminal conduct for the purposes of this section, irrespective of whether or not an offender is charged or convicted, including where the crime has not been reported. This ensures that the provisions of the Code issued under Section 2 can cover the provision of services to victims at all stages of the criminal justice process and to victims of offences in respect of which no criminal proceedings are eventually brought (including where the victim chooses not to report the crime) or where criminal proceedings result in a not-guilty verdict
	Subsection (6) makes an amendment to the definition of "victim" in section 52 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 to ensure consistency between the two provisions.
Part 1: Victims of Criminal Conduct Meaning of "victim" Section 1: "Meaning of Victim"