The term Victim refers to anyone who suffers direct or threatened physical, emotional, or financial harm due to an act of violence, crime or omission. This includes children and young people, as well as family members, partners, friends, coworkers, community members and business associates of a victim.
New York State’s laws and policies provide many rights for innocent victims of crime. The Office of Victim Services (OVS) has a wide array of resources to help victims and their families cope with the impact of a crime. OVS also provides compensation to cover out-of-pocket losses for eligible crime victims. For more information on compensation, please review A Guide to Crime Victim Compensation in New York State and OVS Resource Connect — a web-based search tool that helps people quickly locate services provided by OVS-funded programs across the State.
Abuse, harm or neglect can take many forms, including verbal abuse and threats, causing physical pain, self-neglect – such as failing to look after yourself or your home, and failure to meet essential needs like food, shelter, clothing or health care. Every person has the right to live in safety and is entitled to access support and help to prevent any further harm.
Those who experience abuse relate to their experiences in different ways. It is important to be led by the language that individuals choose to use themselves and avoid using language that may stigmatize or label them. For example, some adults prefer to be referred to as “survivor” rather than “victim,” because they feel the word victim comes with a number of assumptions, including passivity and powerlessness.