Abstract

Background: Individuals with serious mental illnesses compose a group particularly vulnerable to victimization. This major susceptibility to violent crimes is due to the impairment of their cognitive functions and to the living conditions of these individuals. Objectives: This paper aimed to perform a systematic review of the literature about the occurrence and factors associated with victimization in this population, in addition to evaluate the national literature about the subject. Methods: Publications that assessed the prevalence of victimization in individuals with serious mental illness were analyzed. Medline (1966 to February 2013) and Lilacs (1982 to February 2013) databases were searched. Separate searches were conducted for the keywords “mental illness”, “psychiatric