ABSTRACT
In recent years the notion of a risk society has become very much in vogue in academic thinking (Beck 1992). However, over twenty years ago, positive victimologists were using similar ideas for understanding the risk or chance of being a victim. It has been argued that a much more realistic approach would be to try to understand victimisation in terms of risk. This can be related to the concept of lifestyle, which was introduced to victimology by Hindelang, Gottfredson and Garofalo in 1978 and takes us beyond the individual victimising event, instead emphasising the constraints and impact of structure on the individual. In other words, variables such as occupation, status, daily routine and leisure outside the home can compound one another, giving rise to increased chances of victimisation. In relation to occupation, for example, it has been documented that hospital workers are at increasing risk of attack during their working hours from violent, often drunk, patients.
