NCJ Number
191918
Journal
Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: 2001 Pages: 102-116
Date Published
2001
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Ex-partners have been identified as a subgroup of stalkers that present a higher risk of violence to their victims than do acquaintance or stranger stalkers; the current study reviewed those studies relevant to this argument, and further analyzed the relationship between stalker violence and the prior degree of intimacy between victim and stalker.
Abstract
The current study sample consisted of 95 self-defined stalking victims in the United Kingdom. The questionnaire completed by respondents covered such issues as basic demographic details for both victims and stalkers, the nature of their prior relationship, whether the stalker acted alone and had stalked before, whether the stalker had recruited others to aid his/her campaign, location of the harassment, duration and frequency of stalking, specific behavior targeted toward the victim, perceived reason for the stalking, the victim's reaction, the response of the authorities, and action taken by the victim and its consequences. All 95 victims whose data were included in the analyses were judged by Pathe and Mullen's (1997) criteria to be victims of stalking; i.e., they had experienced repeated, unwanted intrusions by means of following, surveillance, approaches, and communications by letter, telephone, or electronic mail. The victims were placed in one of three categories according to the nature of their relationship with the stalker: ex-intimates, former acquaintances, and strangers. Ex-intimates were the most aggressive of the three groups. Ex-partners were overall the most intrusive in their behavior and were also the most likely to threaten and assault third parties as well as their principal victim. Stranger stalkers, however, were significantly more likely than ex-partners to be convicted of stalking-related offenses. The study concluded that the experiences of those in the sample suggest that being stalked carries a high risk of violence. Across relational subtypes, over 40 percent of the respondents had experienced physical assault, including attempted murder, sexual assault, or a combination of these acts. 1 table and 19 references