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A victimless crime is an illegal act that typically either directly involves only the perpetrator or occurs between consenting adults.[1] Because it is consensual in nature, whether there involves a victim is a matter of debate.[1][2] Definitions of victimless crimes vary in different parts of the world and different law systems,[1] but usually include possession of any illegal contraband, recreational drug use, prostitution and prohibited sexual behavior between consenting adults, assisted suicide, and smuggling among other similar infractions.[1][3]
In politics, a lobbyist or an activist might use the term victimless crime with the implication that the law in question should be abolished.[4]
Victimless crimes are, in the harm principle of John Stuart Mill, "victimless" from a position that considers the individual as the sole sovereign, to the exclusion of more abstract bodies such as a community or a state against which criminal offenses may be directed.[5] They may be considered offenses against the state rather than society.[1]
- ^ a b c d e Fletcher, Robin (30 October 2019). "Victimless crime". Victimless Crime. Oxford Bibliographies Online. doi:10.1093/OBO/9780195396607-0272. ISBN 978-0-19-539660-7.
- ^ "Is Prostitution a Victimless Crime?". Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ Black's Law Dictionary. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company. 2004.
- ^ Schur, Edwin (1973). Victimless Crimes: Two Sides of a Controversy. The New York Times Company.
- ^ "The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign." John Stuart Mill (1859). On Liberty. Oxford University. pp. 21–22. Retrieved 27 February 2008.