‘There's no smoke without fire’: Are male ex‐partners perceived as more ‘entitled’ to stalk than acquaintance or stranger stalkers?

Abstract

In a stalking scenario, the prior relationship between and the gender of stalker and victim were systematically manipulated in order to judge culpability and consequences for the persons involved. Written vignettes were presented to 168 participants who responded via seven Likert scales. Stalker-victim relationship had three levels: ex-partner, acquaintance and stranger. In accordance with the 'Just World' hypothesis (Lerner, 1980), the victim was judged as having greater responsibility for the stalking when their harasser was an ex-partner or a prior acquaintance rather than a stranger, and police intervention was felt to be most necessary when the stalker was a stranger. Sex of stalker and victim was manipulated, and the following comparisons proved significant: when the perpetrator was male, bodily injury to the victim was seen as more likely and police intervention as more necessary than when the perpetrator was female; and male victims were viewed as more responsible for the scenario and as possessing greater powers to alleviate it. The Just World hypothesis and gender stereotypes provide a plausible account for these findings. Future research should determine whether criminal convictions show similar biases towards convicting male and stranger stalkers more often than female and ex-partner stalkers.

‘Reasonable’ perceptions of stalking: the influence of conduct severity and the perpetrator–target relationship

“…More recently, Sheridan, Gillett, Davies, Blaauw, and Patel (2003) examined the influence of the perpetrator-target relationship and perpetrator-target sex on perceptions of stalking among a sample of 168 UK students. Participants were presented with a oneparagraph vignette describing a 'typical' case of stalking that had been ongoing for a year.…”

“…According to Sheridan, Gillett et al (2003), the just world hypothesis (JWH) proposed by Lerner and Simmons (1966) offers an explanation for the finding that the perpetratortarget relationship influences perceptions of stalking. The JWH asserts that people need to believe in a 'just world' in which people get what they deserve, or conversely, 'deserve what they get' (Lerner & Simmons, 1966).…”

“…In the context of stalking, the JWH provides an explanation for the real-world finding that intimate stalkers are less likely to incur criminal convictions compared with stranger stalkers (Harris, 2000;Sheridan & Davies, 2001b). Because former intimate stalkers share a history with their victim, an observer may surmise that the victim must have done something to upset the stalker, and therefore is more likely to deserve their fate than a victim who has never met their harasser and therefore cannot possibly have upset him or her (see Sheridan, Gillett et al, 2003). This (often flawed) reasoning allows the observer to maintain a feeling of safety and a belief in a just world, where people only experience negative events if they deserve to.…”

“…Although Sheridan, Gillett et al (2003) explored the influence of the perpetrator-target relationship on perceptions of stalking in a 'typical' case of stalking, the severity of the stalking behaviour was not manipulated. Furthermore, when Phillips et al (2004) investigated the influence of the perpetrator-target relationship and conduct severity on perceptions of stalking the variables were manipulated in separate studies.…”

Framing and perceptions of stalking: the influence of conduct severity and the perpetrator–target relationship

“…Collectively, the body of research indicates that behaviour is more likely to be considered stalking when the behaviour is persistent (Dennison, 2007;Dennison & Thomson, 2002;Phillips et al, 2004;Scott & Sheridan, 2011), when the perpetrator clearly intends to cause the target fear or harm (Dennison, 2007;Dennison & Thomson, 2002;Phillips et al, 2004;Scott & Sheridan, 2011), and when the perpetrator is portrayed as a stranger rather than an 5 acquaintance or ex-partner (Cass, 2011;Phillips et al 2004;Scott, Lloyd, & Gavin, 2010;Scott & Sheridan, 2011;Sheridan, Gillett, Davies, Blaauw, & Patel, 2003). Research has also demonstrated that behaviour is more likely to be perceived to necessitate police intervention, and cause the target alarm, personal distress and to fear the use of violence when the behaviour is persistent and the perpetrator is portrayed as a stranger (e.g., Dennison, 2007;Hills & Taplin, 1998;Scott et al, 2010;Scott & Sheridan, 2011;.…”