The dangerous nature of intimate relationship stalking: threats, violence, and associated risk factors.

Although previous studies of forensic and law enforcement stalking populations (Harmon, Rosner, & Owens, 1995; Meloy & Gothard, 1995; Zona, Sharma, & Lane, 1993) agree that the degree of intimacy of the victim-suspect relationship is an important factor in stalking cases, they have not conducted in-depth analyses of this variable. This study compared 223 intimate (n=135) and non-intimate (n=88) stalking cases managed by the Los Angeles Police Department's Threat Management Unit. A path analysis revealed a significant relationship between the stalkers' intimate versus non-intimate status and violence committed toward persons and property. This relationship was positively influenced by the suspect's level of proximity to the victim and threats toward the victim and property, but not influenced by suspect's criminal, psychiatric, and domestic violence histories. Overall, intimate relationship stalkers used more dangerous stalking behaviors than non-intimate relationship stalkers. Risk factors for assessing dangerousness of stalkers are discussed.     

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

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.     

Motives to Report Stalking Cases to the Police: A Comparison Between a Large City and a Small Town in Italy

This study aimed to analyze the cases reported to police by women who were victims of stalking. The use of police offense records is well known in investigations of victims of this phenomenon as well as other violent crimes (e.g., domestic violence). The objective was to compare the 3 motives (own safety, other safety, change habits) indicated by victims in reporting the cases to police as recorded in case files. For each motive, a comparison was made of the characteristics of victims and stalkers, the nature of the relationship between the victims and stalkers, and the characteristics of the stalking campaign, the stalker’s behaviors, the consequences to the victims, and coping strategies. This information was reported by victims to police in a large city and small town in Italy. The comparison showed that victims in large cities were less prone to report stalking cases to the police than victims in small towns. Differences addressed the duration of the stalking campaign, the behaviors involved, the consequences, and the coping strategies adopted. Police forces could benefit from the results of this research in defining both training courses for police officers and prevention courses for the general population.     

Predictors of recidivism by stalkers: a nine-year follow-up of police contacts

In a subsample of a multisite stalking study (Mohandie, Meloy, McGowan, & Williams, 2006) comprising 78 offenders from one site, 77% committed new offenses within an average follow-up of 106 months (8.8 years). Over half (56%) were charged for new stalking related offenses and 33% for violent recidivism. Violent reoffending, including sexual offenses, was predicted by risk factors consistent with existing literature: younger age at first conviction, prior release failures, and criminal history. Stalking recidivism was predicted by pre-index offending scores, using the Cormier-Lang, and prior diagnosis of a mental illness. In addition, stalkers with previously diagnosed mental illness had significantly more police contacts as complainants than those without; their recidivism was also more likely to be non-violent.     

Same-gender stalking in Sweden and Australia

This study examined the phenomenon of same-gender stalking and sought to identify differences between same- and opposite-gender stalking cases. Ninety-four same-gender and 160 opposite-gender stalking cases from Sweden and Australia were compared on demographic, offense, clinical, and behavioral characteristics. The groups were largely similar, differing mainly in the nature of the prior relationship between stalker and victim and the stalker's motivation. The most notable distinction was the significantly greater prevalence of ex-intimate partner stalkers in the opposite-gender group (65%) versus the same-gender group (32%), leading to the exclusion of ex-intimates from the subsequent analysis to remove this potentially confounding variable. Amongst non-ex-intimates, same-gender stalkers were significantly more likely to be female and to stalk out of a sense of resentment and grievance. The results showed that the gender of the victim and perpetrator was less important to the course and conduct of a stalking episode than were the stalker's motivation and the nature of the prior relationship to the victim.     

Are Female Stalkers More Violent Than Male Stalkers? Understanding Gender Differences in Stalking Violence Using Contemporary Sociocultural Beliefs

This study investigated gender differences in the perpetration of stalking violence and how sociocultural beliefs may account for these differences/similarities. A sample of 293 Australian undergraduate and postgraduate students classified as relational stalkers completed a self-report questionnaire assessing violence perpetration (no/moderate/severe violence) and sociocultural beliefs (justifications for relational violence; assessments of target fear). Female relational stalkers perpetrated elevated rates of moderate violence; however, there were no gender differences for severe violence. Both male and female relational stalkers were more supportive of justifications for female-perpetrated relational violence than male-perpetrated relational violence. Violent male relational stalkers were more likely to believe they caused fear/harm than their female counterparts. These findings are interpreted in the context of sociocultural beliefs that view male-to-female violence as more unacceptable and harmful than female-to-male violence.     

Stalking: Patterns,motives, and intervention strategies

Stalking is generally defined as an intentional pattern of repeated intrusive and intimidating behaviors toward a specific person that causes the target to feel harassed, threatened, and fearful, or that a reasonable person would regard as being so. Motivations for stalking include a delusional belief in romantic destiny, a desire to reclaim a prior relationship, a sadistic urge to torment the victim, or a psychotic overidentification with the victim and the desire to replace him or her. Stalkers may carry a variety of diagnostic labels, including psychotic disorders, delusional disorders, or cluster-B personality disorders, and are generally refractive to conventional psychological treatments. Risk factors for violence in a stalking scenario include a prior intimate relationship, the stalker's feeling of being rejected or humiliated, and generic risk factors for violence such as low educational level and substance abuse. Cyberstalking can be as distressing, if not more so, to victims as physical stalking due to the concealment and anonymity afforded by electronic communication. Victims may adopt varying strategies for dealing with stalkers, such as avoiding, confronting, seeking third party assistance, and accessing the legal system. Threat management specialists have offered certain recommendations that can make it easier for a victim to deter and discourage a stalker.     

Key questions to consider in stalking cases

Stalkers can inflict severe injury upon and have been known to kill their victims. Based on the detailed responses of 1,565 stalking victims, a set of key questions was produced with the aim of increasing the opportunities of police officers to identify potentially dangerous stalkers. Despite marked methodological differences and the inclusion of a large number of variables, regression analyses for significant correlates for physical assault per se and for severe violence largely reflected the results of earlier works. For severe violence (n=136), the most important correlate was a high level of victim fear, suggesting that victims are adept at assessing their own risk of stalker violence. The set of 11 questions performed well on preliminary tests and is presented here.     

Assessing the link between stalking and domestic violence

Stalking may be defined as repeated following, communicating, and contacting a person in a threatening manner that causes the person to fear, on a reasonable basis, for his or her safety. Stalking is a recent legal construct, and social scientific research on stalking is in an early stage. Given that the most common victim of stalking is an ex-intimate partner, there may be an association between stalking and domestic violence. This paper evaluates this potential link. Specifically, the literature on stalking is reviewed by means of comparing it to existing literature on typologies of domestically violent persons. It is proposed that most stalkers who target ex-intimate partners are characterologically similar to a type of batterer labeled “borderline/cyclical.” Both domestic stalkers and borderline/cyclical batterers possess traits of Cluster B personality disorders. These traits include emotional volatility, attachment dysfunction, primitive defenses, weak ego strength, jealousy, anger, substance abuse, and early childhood trauma. Further, both groups have been observed to react with rage to perceived or actual rejection or abandonment. It is suggested that applying what is known about borderline/cyclical batterers to stalkers may aid in the investigation of this phenomenon. Implications for research are discussed.     

Victimization and Resistance Strategies Among Female Offenders

Research reveals that most women resist violence against them. We know less, however, about the situational processes and context that shape the nature and outcome of attacks. In addition, limited research has examined the use of resistance strategies among female offenders. This article draws from a qualitative study of violence in the lives of female offenders to examine the situational context of assault outcomes and its relationship to their resistance strategies. Specifically, this study investigates how women's accounts of resistance to both physical and sexual assaults by an intimate partner, acquaintance, or stranger unfold across time. Results highlight the importance of examining the situational context of violence and resistance to further enrich our understanding of these phenomena.     

Effects of long-term exposure to violent and sexually degrading depictions of women

In this study we investigated the effects of emotional desensitization to films of violence against women and the effects of sexually degrading explicit and nonexplicit films on beliefs about rape and the sexual objectification of women. Male subjects viewed either two or five R-rated violent "slasher," X-rated nonviolent "pornographic," or R-rated nonviolent teenage-oriented ("teen sex") films. Affective reactions and cognitive perceptions were measured after each exposure. Later, these men and no-exposure control subjects completed a voir dire questionnaire, viewed a reenacted acquaintance or nonacquaintance sexual assault trial, and judged the defendant and alleged rape victim. Subjects in the violent condition became less anxious and depressed and showed declines in negative affective responses. They were also less sympathetic to the victim and less empathetic toward rape victims in general. However, longer film exposure was necessary to affect general empathy. There were no differences in response between the R-rated teen sex film and the X-rated, sexually explicit, nonviolent film, and the no-exposure control conditions on the objectification or the rape trial variables. A model of desensitization to media violence and the carryover to decision making about victims is proposed.     

The Effect of Social-Comparison Feedback on Aggressive Responses to Erotic and Aggressive Films1

A study assessed the effects of social-comparison cues and filmed violence on aggression toward women. Under the auspices of validating some film clips for use in future research, males viewed either erotic, violent sexual, or violent nonsexual films. A male confederate provided social comparison feedback by indicating (or not indicating) that the film degraded women. Self-reports of sexual arousal, affective responses to the films, perceptions of violence, perceptions of pornography, and perceptions of portrayal of women were measured. In a purportedly unrelated learning experiment, males were given the opportunity to aggress toward a female confederate through electric shock. Intensity and duration of shock were measured. Social comparison information caused reductions in self-reports of sexual arousal, affect, and increased perceptions of violence in the erotic film condition only. Social-comparison information caused males to rate the depiction of women as more negative in both the erotic and violent nonsexual conditions. Regardless of film type, social comparison information caused a reduction in perceived realism of the films. Only film condition affected perceptions of pornography, with greater sexual content judged as more pornographic. Social-comparison information reduced the intensity of shocks delivered. Finally, social-comparison information led to reduced duration of shock in all film conditions; however, this effect appeared to dissipate in the violent sexual condition. Implications are discussed.     

Advances in stalking risk assessment

Over the past 15 years, forensic mental health has become more concerned with the concepts of violence prevention, management, and treatment. The development of specialist tools to aid in the assessment of a range of risks reflects this concern. This article explores contemporary thinking on violence risk assessment and how this knowledge can be applied to the relatively newer field of stalking risk assessment. The role of risk state and risk status are discussed, in addition to the way that standard structured professional judgment procedures need to be adapted to reflect the variety of risks present in stalking situations. The authors go on to describe the development and format of the Stalking Risk Profile, a set of structured professional judgment guidelines for assessing risk in stalkers. Suggestions are made for future research to enhance knowledge and improve practice in the field of stalking risk assessment.     

Women in danger: intimate partner violence experienced by women who qualify and do not qualify for a protective order.

Not all women who apply qualify for a civil protective order. This study compares the type and severity of violence reported by women who qualified with that experienced by women who did not qualify. Ninety women seeking a protective order against a male intimate were interviewed. Findings indicated that 28% of women applying for a protective order did not qualify primarily because of cohabitation requirements or childbearing status. Actual and threatened violence was measured with the 46-item Severity of Violence Against Women Scale. A 17-item questionnaire measured stalking behavior. Levels of reported violence for the preceding 3 months were measured for the two groups. The symbolic threat behavior only of throwing, smashing, or breaking an object was significantly higher for qualifying women. The physical abuse behavior only of being pushed, shoved, or pulled was significantly higher. None of the stalking behaviors were significantly different. Data are urgently needed that document the barriers to abused women receiving protective orders, the relevancy of qualifying criteria, and the effectiveness of protective orders issued.     

Narrating Rape: An Ethnographic Case-Study of Non-Consensual Sexual Debut in Tanzania

ABSTRACT

This article explores the issue of (female) sexual consent in a non-western context by examining narratives of the non-consensual sexual debut in Tanzania within the institutional and cultural tolerance for intimate violence, and the role of the state and media in condoning “proper” gender roles. None of the young women interviewed during a year of ethnographic fieldwork on a college campus were willing to identify this activity as “rape,” though they frequently detailed the ways that aspirations for “respectability” created conditions of vulnerability to ongoing exploitative sexual relationships with older men in positions of authority whom they once trusted. In the socio-sexual premarital landscape of school girls, sex is never given away for free, but may be dispensed with reasonable expectation of return. In an effort to contextualize sexual intimacy and avoid careless use of labels like “prostitution,” feminist public health researchers began to frame sexual encounters in transactional terms. Although not entirely unproblematic, the less stigmatizing terminology reveals more nuanced intimate economies among men and women which include structurally and culturally-derived elements of deprivation, agency, and instrumentality. This article pays careful attention to the narrative of one young women who describes a socio-sexual premarital landscape which almost universally positions male partners as culturally-empowered to proceed with aggressive, even violent, advances toward young women they wish to have sex with, “date,” or marry. Within this context, this article then teases out emerging discourses about structural conditions that reinforce violence.     

Langhinrichsen-Rolling’s Confirmation of the Feminist Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence: Comment on “Controversies Involving Gender and Intimate Partner Violence in the United States”

This article makes four major points in response to Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rolling’s (2010) review of the intimate partner violence literature. First, the evidence is clear that there is more than one type of intimate partner violence. Second, the feminists are right. Gender is central to the analysis of intimate partner violence, and the coercive controlling violence that most people associate with the term “domestic violence” is perpetrated primarily by men against their female partners. Third, different types of intimate partner violence have different causes, different developmental trajectories, and different consequences. They require different models to understand them. Finally, we need more qualitative research focused on the least understood types of intimate partner violence: violent resistance and situational couple violence.     

Differentiation of Death-Row Murderers and Life-Sentence Murderers by Antisociality and Intelligence Measures

Prior studies of dangerousness have confirmed that the combination of high antisociality and low IQ is associated with male criminal violence and that the same combination can discriminate within a group of violent male criminals by level of severity. My study continued the validation of this two-component measure by showing that men convicted of murder and given the death sentence for their more heinous crimes were more dangerous than murderers who received life sentences. Men who had been extended the death penalty, who selected female victims, and whose murders were judged to have been especially cruel received extraordinarily high dangerousness scores relative to all other murderers. The assumption that high antisociality and low IQ would lead to serious violence because of the criminal's inability to deal with complications that arise in confronting the victim received some support. The murders of more dangerous men followed stronger victim resistance than the murders committed by less dangerous men.     

Differentiation of death-row murderers and life-sentence murderers by antisociality and intelligence measures

Prior studies of dangerousness have confirmed that the combination of high antisociality and low IQ is associated with male criminal violence and that the same combination can discriminate within a group of violent male criminals by level of severity. My study continued the validation of this two-component measure by showing that men convicted of murder and given the death sentence for their more heinous crimes were more dangerous than murderers who received life sentences. Men who had been extended the death penalty, who selected female victims, and whose murders were judged to have been especially cruel received extraordinarily high dangerousness scores relative to all other murderers. The assumption that high antisociality and low IQ would lead to serious violence because of the criminal's inability to deal with complications that arise in confronting the victim received some support. The murders of more dangerous men followed stronger victim resistance than the murders committed by less dangerous men.     

Gender differences in the link between intimate partner physical violence and depression

Studies show that, in violent relationships, both partners suffer from higher levels of depression than in non-violent relationships. Most of these studies were based on samples of battered women. Very little research has examined the depression levels of women who physically assault a marital or dating partner or men who assault or are victims of female assaults. Moreover, the association between intimate partner physical violence and depression does not provide a theoretical framework or an explanation for the differences in depression levels of male and female perpetrators and victims. This article presents a preliminary, yet empirically grounded, foundation for explaining research findings on depression levels for males and females in three “Dyadic Types” of intimate partner physical violence: Male-Only, Female-Only, and Both Violent. The theoretical framework involves identifying the relation of intimate partner physical violence to be of greater male than female concern with status enhancement and greater female than male concern with risk reduction, and how these play out in each of the Dyadic Types.     

Family of Origin Violence Predictors of IPV by Two Types of Male Offenders

The aim of this study was to determine the role of family of origin violence in predicting intimate partner violence (IPV). Male participants were divided into generally offending and family-only groups according to whether their violence occurred exclusively within intimate partner and family contexts or toward others outside the family as well. Results showed that exposure to family of origin violence affected IPV differently between the two groups of offenders. For generally offending offenders, exposure to family of origin violence significantly predicted IPV above and beyond demographic factors, alcohol and drug use, and bidirectional aggression. For family-only offenders, witnessing father-initiated violence toward the mother had a significant influence on their violent behavior toward their intimate partners. Clinical implications of these findings are addressed.