Women Stalking in Iran (From Stalking: Criminal Justice Responses, P 1-10, 2000, Australian Institute of Criminology -- See NCJ-188298)

• NCJ Number: 188317
• Author(s): Amir Hossein Kordvani
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper from the conference, "Stalking: Criminal Justice Responses," organized by the Australian Institute of Criminology, December 7-8, 2000, in Sydney. Downloaded May 14, 2001

Annotation

Using the Oxford Dictionary of Law's definition of stalking as "persistent threatening behavior by one person against another...," this paper examines the stalking of women in Iran, since the stalking of men is less frequent there.

Abstract

Stalking, as defined in western legal texts, has no meaning in the Iranian legal system. In Iran, therefore, "stalking" is not a legal term and is consequently not a crime. Nonetheless, certain elements of stalking, namely, threats and harassment, are punishable by law. Although there are no official statistics on the rate of stalking in Iran, unofficial reports and studies indicate that stalking, particularly the stalking of women, is becoming a considerable problem for the society and the criminal justice system, notably in large cities like Tehran. This paper first identifies the main factors that have an impact on the stalking of women in Iran. This is followed by a classification of the stalkers according to their profiles. Statistics from a recent survey are then discussed, as well as the existing legal remedies for controlling stalking. The most important factors that have contributed to the increase in the stalking of women in Iran are the influence of a patriarchal culture, in which men are conditioned to believe they have the right to control women; the cultural value that makes women particularly vulnerable to stalking when they have had an extramarital relationship accompanied by sexual relations; the psychological problems of the stalker; and the reluctance of stalking victims to report the stalking to the authorities. Stalker profiles in Iran include suitors, ex-husbands, ex-boyfriends, and male relatives of a woman. The survey reported in this paper was conducted from May 1999 to July 2000 by the Centre for Security Research and Studies in an effort to obtain statistics on offenses against women in Iran. These statistics were collected from five police departments in north, south, east, west, and central Tehran, as well as cases reported by the victims in interviews. Crimes and offensive behavior that involved persistent threat and harassment toward women were included in the statistics. Data indicate that stalking is on the increase. The criminal law, which encompasses some elements of stalking, is not as effective as it should be in protecting and supporting victims of stalking. 3 figures and 13 references