victimless crime
An activity classified as a *crime in the laws of a country, which may therefore be prosecuted by the police or other public authorities, but which appears to have no victim in that there is no individual person who could bring a case for civil damages under civil law. Unlike (say) a case of theft, the damage is to society as a whole, and to notions of morality, proper conduct, and so on. Examples might be drinking alcoholic beverages, reading Marxist literature, homosexuality, gambling, or drug-taking, in societies where such activities are prohibited. ... ...
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