Intimate Relationships:A significant body of literature discusses the impact of crime on relationships among family, partners, and friends
A significant body of literature discusses the impact of crime on relationships among family, partners, and friends. Victimization can create issues of trust, even among social support networks (Dinisman & Moroz, 2017). It can put strains on relationships, as victims work through the mental and physical impacts of crime. Victims rely on social networks to help them report the crime to the police, serve as emotional support, to help them through the legal process, as well as to help prevent additional victimization. This is true across all crime types regardless of severity of victimization. Friends and other types of peers are also incredibly important to victims, especially in ensuring they are not isolating themselves and can promote help-seeking behaviors. Peer support groups have also been shown to be important, especially when the offender was known to the victim, as family and friends may not be as supportive because of their relationship with the offender. Finding others who have had similar experiences and who understand what the victim has gone through has been shown to be very important in recovery (Australian Government, 2005). Family and friends can also end up with their own secondary victimization issues, such as increased fear of crime, increased stress and behaviors associated with that fear, and taking additional precautions to prevent victimization.