Creating Inner and Outer Safety: Findings from a Research Study on Finnish Women’s and Children’s Experiences of Post-separation Stalking

Abstract

In this chapter, we focus on Finnish women's and children's experiences of post-separation stalking, with the aim of exploring how stalking influences their everyday lives. Based on this, we outline a set of requirements for social workers, and health care professionals to follow in order to provide help and support to women and children in post-separation stalking situations. We have integrated our previous qualitative research findings and a preliminary analysis of new data on the subject to outline a set of central aspects of women's and children's experiences of being stalked. We highlight four key themes characterising stalked lives. Female and child victims' experiences of stalking by the woman's former partner -and the children's father-affects the victims' everyday lives by inducing 1) Sense of insecurity, fear and threat of death; 2) Changing roles in families and family dynamics; 3) Shrinking of social networks and reduction of social life; and causing 4) Complexities in being acknowledged as a victim and receiving help. The impacts of stalking call for action to be taken by social workers, health care and other professionals to better understand the nature of post-separation stalking in order to be able to recognise the victims' need of various forms of help and support, to assess the risk in multiagency collaboration, and to create inner and outer safety for women and children.