This book provides an overview of the field of victimology. Unlike existing victimology textbooks, it includes previously published articles on victimology combined with original text that provides background information relevant to the section and context for the articles. In this way, it seeks to relay the history and development of the field of victimology, the extent to which and why people are victimized, how the criminal justice system and other social services interact with victims and each other, and information about specific types of victimization. Victimology: A Text/Reader will has an overarching focus on the extent, causes, and responses to victimization.