VICTIMLESS CRIMES

A victimless crime is an illegal act that is consensual and lacks a complaining participant, including such activities as drug use, gambling, pornography, and prostitution. No one is harmed, or if harm occurs, it is negated by the informed consent of willing participants. It has been suggested that harm can take on various forms, but that since the harmed individual consented to participate in one of these acts, the attribution of victimization is nullified.

Victimless crimes are used to refer to actions that have been ruled illegal but which are argued not to directly violate or threaten the rights of any other individual. Victimless crimes are often described as acts that only affect the person committing them. It can sometimes be difficult to justify the wrongness of crimes that are designated as victimless, because in order for a crime to have been committed it is suggested that another person must be affected without their consent, which does not occur in the event of a victimless crime.

Gambling may be considered a victimless crime, as gambling facilities are legitimate business