Incidence and Nature of Stalking Victimisation (From Stalking: Criminal Justice Responses, P 1-6, 2000, Australian Institute of Criminology -- See NCJ-188298)

• NCJ Number: 188299
• Author(s): Rosemary Purcell; Michele Pathe; Paul E. Mullen
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: Paper from the conference, "Stalking: Criminal Justice Responses," organized by the Australian Institute of Criminology, December 7-8, 2000, in Sydney. Downloaded May 14, 2001

Annotation

This study examined the incidence of stalking behaviors in Australia, the association between stalking and other forms of violence, and factors that mediate the type and duration of stalking.

Abstract

Survey packages that contained a 14-page questionnaire booklet, explanatory letter, and reply-paid envelope were sent to a randomly selected sample of 3,700 men and women whose names and addresses were obtained from the electoral roll in the Australian State of Victoria. Each respondent completed questions regarding social and educational status and the experience of harassment. Additionally, those respondents who acknowledged any incidents of unwanted behavior were asked to complete questions that pertained to the duration of harassment, characteristics of the perpetrator, associated violence, and responses to victimization. The overall valid response rate was 61 percent. The lifetime cumulative incidence of stalking was 23.4 percent, with 5.8 percent being stalked in the 12 months prior to the survey. Some 10.6 percent of respondents were subjected at some time to a protracted course of stalking that involved multiple intrusions that persisted for a period of at least 4 weeks, with 2.9 percent reporting this level of harassment in the previous 12 months. Females were significantly more likely than males to report having been stalked at some time during their life, although the rates of victimization in the previous 12 months did not differ by gender. One in five stalking victims was physically attacked. Assistance was frequently sought to manage the stalking, with victims typically consulting loved ones or the police. Data are provided on victim characteristics, perpetrator characteristics, same-gender harassment, prior relationship, duration and methods of harassment, threats and assault, responses to victimization, and predictors of type and duration of stalking behaviors. 9 references