Cyberstalking in the UK

Abstract

The growth in the use of interconnected devices in the UK is well-documented. Society has embraced new technology allowing access to information, systems, and people; children are being described as digital natives and social networking, internet telephony, and accessing digital entertainment are a major part of their lives. However, whilst the ubiquitous nature of modern communication systems has brought many benefits, there exist a minority that uses the technology to harass others. This paper considers the phenomenon of Cyberstalking and presents an analysis of the problem and the responses provided on the first survey that addresses issue specifically. The paper discusses the nature of attacks, the victim-attacker relationship, the impact of the attacks and the actions taken to resolve the issue. The paper also considers both the legal and technological aspects and presents recommendations to help reduce the occurrence of Cyberstalking.

Behaving Badly Online: Establishing Norms of Unacceptable Behaviours

“…'Persistent Communication' was comprised of the behaviours 'using different identities' and 'frequent contact'. This is partly consistent with previous research that indicates the persistence of communication, and the number of channels or identities through which that communication is made, is directly related to the degree of fear and distress experienced by individual targeted by such behaviours (Maple et al, 2012). Indeed, stalking is defined by the number of intrusions made (Protection of Freedoms act, 2012).…”

“…The prevalence of PTSD following cyber-stalking exceeds the occurrence in a general population following extremely traumatic events (Weathers, Huska, & Keane, 1994). A study investigating the incidence of trauma found 32.7% of cyberstalking victims scored highly for all the symptoms of PTSD; this is equivalent to the rates of PTSD recorded by individuals following exposure to severe traumas such as bombing, combat and sexual assaults (Maple et al, 2012).…”

“…Chronic cases may require psychological intervention or medical treatments if the bullying has been so severe that the victim sees no other way but to attempt to end their life. More common are behavioural changes necessitated by the negative impact of online bullying or harassment: one out of three victims experience symptoms of stress following being bullied or stalked online which has led to them abstaining from the internet (McQuade, 2012) or making other changes to their lives (Maple, Short, Brown, Bryden, & Salter, 2012) .…”

On Textual Analysis and Machine Learning for Cyberstalking Detection

“…Therefore, beyond advice on best practice (for example see [25]) for those who find themselves as the target of cyberstalking and the like novel technical solutions are needed. These technical solutions are needed not only from a prevention or evidenciary basis but also so that those who find themselves as the focus of these types of attack can feel a sense of regaining control, loss of control being one of the many consequences as reported by the ECHO project [23, 31]. …”

“…For instance, research from the Electronic Communication Harassment Observation (ECHO) project [23, 31] shows that many incidents, although initially emerging in cyberspace, have consequently moved to the physical world. Extreme examples of such incidents have forced victims to disengage from their daily routines, move homes, and/or change jobs resulting in significant financial losses, inducing fear, distress, and disrupting the daily activities of victims.…”