Stalking has been described as psychological rape, the crime of the nineties, a celebrity problem and a media-created moral panic. However, no satisfactory definition exists and the challenges which stalking poses to both the legal system and society have yet to be subjected to rigorous academic evaluation. This book aims to redress this situation by drawing upon a range of methodologies to present both a thorough and comprehensive examination of the way in which stalking became perceived as a pressing and prevalent social problem in need of legal intervention, and a critical evaluation of the efficacy and sufficiency of the legal responses.

First published in 2001, The Criminalisation of Stalking fills a much-needed gap by drawing upon a range of methodologies to present a thorough and comprehensive examination of the way in which stalking became perceived as a pressing and prevalent social problem in need of legal intervention, as well as providing a critical evaluation of the efficacy and sufficiency of the legal responses. Essentially this book has two main objectives- first, to provide a comprehensive account of the process by which stalking came to be regarded as a significant social problem which merited legal intervention and to evaluate that response. And secondly, to situate this within a wider theoretical context which addresses the role of the criminal law in dealing with social problems and the boundaries of criminalization. This illustrates how a detailed consideration of a particular issue can inform wider debate and provide a unique perspective on existing theoretical material. This socio-legal perspective facilitates the use of a range of methodologies to challenge the existing conceptualization of stalking and to present a wider range of potential solutions to this complex social problem. This is a must read for scholars and researchers of criminology.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Stalking is defined as a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. The Supplemental Victimization Survey identified seven types of harassing or unwanted behaviors consistent with a course of conduct experienced by stalking victims. The survey classified individuals as stalking victims if they responded that they experienced at least one of these behaviors on at least two separate occasions. In addition, the individuals must have feared for their safety or that of a family member as a result of the course of conduct, or have experienced additional threatening behaviors that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. This report presents information on stalking victimization. Illustrations.

This book considers whether coercive control (particularly non-physical forms of family violence) should be prohibited by the criminal law. Based on the premise that traditional understandings of family violence are severely limited, it considers whether the core of family violence is power-based controlling or coercive behavior: attempts by men to psychologically dominate their partners. Such behavior can cause significant psychological, physical and economic harms to victims and is increasingly recognized as a form of human rights abuse. The book considers the new offences that have been introduced in England and Wales (controlling or coercive behavior), Ireland (controlling behavior) and Scotland (domestic abuse). It invites consideration of three key questions: Do conventional criminal laws adequately regulate non-physical abuse? Is the criminal law an appropriate mechanism for responding to the coercive control of family members? And if a new and distinctive offence is warranted, what is the optimal form of that offence? This ground-breaking work is essential reading for researchers and practitioners interested in coercive control and the proper role of the criminal law as a mechanism for regulating family violence.

This book considers how a phenomenon as complex as coercive control can be criminalised. The recognition and ensuing criminalisation of coercive control in the UK and Ireland has been the focus of considerable international attention. It has generated complex questions about the "best" way to criminalise domestic abuse. This work reviews recent domestic abuse criminal law reform in the UK and Ireland. In particular, it defines coercive control and explains why using traditional criminal law approaches to prosecute it does not work. Laws passed in England and Wales versus Scotland represent two different approaches to translating coercive control into a criminal offence. This volume explains how and why the jurisdictions have taken different approaches and examines the advantages and disadvantages of each. As jurisdictions around the world review what steps need to be taken to improve national criminal justice responses to domestic abuse, the question of what works, and why, at the intersection of domestic abuse and the criminal law has never been more important. As such, the book will be a vital resource for lawyers, policy-makers and activists with an interest in domestic abuse law reform.

Writing love letters, making phone calls, and sending gifts, these are all seemingly innocuous behaviours. This changes when the love expressed in the letters remains unrequited, when the phone calls amount to hundreds a night, or when the gifts consist of bullets and funeral wreaths. When attempts to contact another person happen with a certain nature and frequency, the behaviour can be qualified as stalking and it can have a detrimental impact on the life of the person subjected to the unwanted attention. In this book an account is given of the nature and prevalence of the problem of stalking in the Netherlands, of the effectiveness and the (dis)advantages of resorting to the police, and of the pros and cons of two alternative anti-stalking measures: hiring the services of a private investigation and protection agency and obtaining a civil restraining order.

Stalking is a relatively new "crime". This report investigates the social and legal attempts to deal with a crime that incorporates such diverse realms as psychiatric disorders, gender relations and everyday social interaction. The primary policy recommendation of the report is that the range of available responses to stalking needs to be expanded. Appropriate interventions require the co-operation of the different stakeholders and should be based upon a sound understanding of the different types of stalking behaviours, the potential for violence, and the detrimental impact of these behaviours upon victims.