What is tertiary victimization?
Tertiary means “third”. Tertiary victimization means that another person, besides the immediate victim, was vicitmized as the result of the first person’s actions. For example: A drunk driver kills a father of four kids in an auto accident. The father is the immediate victim. His wife is the secondary victim because she’s now left with the entire responsibility of supporting the children. The four kids are tertiary victims because they suffer the impact of the loss of their father’s support AND now must take on some of the responsibilities to help their mother, financially or otherwise, provide for the family.
