Stalking Behaviors Presented by Ex-Intimate Stalkers: A Victim’s Perspective

Abstract

Stalking can be defined as a pattern of repeated, unwanted behaviors by one person to another. These behaviors may take the form of communicative intrusion, third-party contact, and physical or sexual assault. The individual stalking behaviors experienced by victims have been found to differ in every case, specifically dependent on their stalker–victim relationship. Recent tragedies have shown that the police force generally underestimates the risk of ex-intimate stalking and harassment behaviors. This study aims to identify patterns of stalking behaviors from a victim’s perspective, specifically, whether there are any patterns of behavior among the ex-intimate stalkers, in comparison with acquaintance or stranger stalkers. Information from the accounts of individuals who had reported unwanted experiences as a result of one of three stalker–victim relationships (ex-intimate, acquaintance, or stranger) was extracted from the National Stalking Helpline database. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 1,626 victims’ reports. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple logistic regressions were conducted to establish any common patterns of behavior among the subgroups of stalkers and to ascertain which behaviors increased the odds of being categorized as an ex-intimate stalker. Results indicated that ex-intimate stalkers presented considerably more behaviors than acquaintance or stranger stalkers; some of which included third-party contact, criminal damage, physical assault, and sexual assault. Results also indicated that ex-intimate stalkers presented more severe behaviors than the other subgroups. The majority of stalking behaviors were found to produce a statistically significant predictive contribution to being classed as an ex-intimate stalker. The findings in this study highlight that common misconception surrounding ex-intimate stalking still exists at every level of the Criminal Justice System. Results and implications for future research are discussed.

Stalking of professionals: A scoping review.

“…Threats towards victims were frequent, and physical and sexual violence was also commonly reported (average prevalence of 30% and 15%, respectively). Again, while these rates of physical violence appear similar to those reported in the general community samples of stalking victims, it must be remembered that the samples in these studies exclude former intimate partners, who are responsible for the majority of stalking violence (Logan, 2020; McEwan et al, 2017; White et al, 2020). Therefore, this review suggests that stalking of professionals may be associated with higher rates of violence than stalking by other acquaintances (cf.…”

Our love was a two-person game. At least until one of us died, and the other became a murderer: sexual homicide perpetrated by intimate partners

“…Most research examining the stalker-victim relationship found that ex-intimates are the largest subgroup of stalkers (Sheridan et al , 2000; Tjaden and Thoennes, 1998). White et al (2020) noted that ex-intimate stalkers presented with considerably more stalking behaviours, which, in comparison to acquaintances or strangers, were more severe and included third-party contact, criminal damage, physical and sexual assault. Unfortunately, stalking has rarely been examined in intimate homicide studies therefore, the extent of the association has not been well-established (Campbell et al , 2007).…”

The Wheel of Change Moves On: Assessing the Severity of Stalking Behavior

“…A body of research examining stalking has focused on perpetrators' tactics, i.e., stalking behaviors that perpetrators used on their victims (e.g., McEwan et al, 2009;Roberts et al, 2016;Sheridan et al, 2019), perpetrators' approach and escalation in stalking (e.g., McEwan et al, 2012;Thompson et al, 2020) and perpetrators/victims relationship (e.g., Kamphuis et al, 2003;White et al, 2020). Although a victim's stalking experience is unique, and the motivations of stalkers vary significantly, the methods or tactics employed by stalkers share the same underlying characteristics (White et al, 2020). While some of the behaviors may appear "acceptable," for example sending a text message and thus may not be perceived as a serious action, it is the persistence by the stalker that makes the behavior criminal (Metropolitan Police Service, 2018).…”

“…Norris et al (2011) note that there is a strong relationship between domestic violence and stalking, as stalking occurs more frequently between ex-intimates. It is suggested that ex-intimates stalking is the most pernicious and violent form of stalking (Kamphuis et al, 2003;White et al, 2020). Although research into the severity of stalking is limited, literature examining partner violence commonly distinguishes two levels of partner abuse, i.e., minor and severe (Allen-Collinson, 2009).…”

“…Research indicates that violent assaults in stalking cases occurred after the stalker had engaged in nonphysical stalking behaviors (McEwan et al, 2011;White et al, 202 ), and that stalking is usually evolving throughout an escalation along the continuum of severity (McEwan et al, 2012;Thompson et al, 2020). In their study, James and Farnham (2003) revealed that violent assaults were linked to personal appearances by the stalker, particularly when the stalker visited the victim's home.…”