Cyberstalking: a case study of serial harassment in the UK

Abstract

There are a small number of well-known cases of cyberstalking. In general, however, these cases have been poorly documented and have not been subjected to detailed analysis. Furthermore, almost every reported case concerns events that have taken place in the United States, and there appear to be few, if any, fully documented cases that describe incidents in other technologically sophisticated societies, such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand.This paper sets out to achieve a number of related objectives. First, the paper attempts to present the first detailed academic case study of cyberstalking. Second, since the case described is of UK origin, it is hoped that attention will be drawn to the obvious, but often overlooked, fact that cyberstalking is a truly international problem, a problem that affects all developed societies and crosses international boundaries. Third, the paper represents an initial attempt to argue that cyberstalking should be seen as a phenomenon that is distinct from 'conventional' stalking. Finally, it is hoped that the discussion section of the paper will stimulate further analysis, debate and research.Before examining the case study itself, a brief description of how data was collected and verified may be of value. A number of informal interviews were held with the final victim described by the case study. These interviews were used to obtain basic information, such as the victim's age, and also helped to clarify any points that arose as work progressed. It was also possible to make contact with the other victims described in the text (via e-mail) in order to verify facts and gain more detail about the activities of the stalker. As described in the case itself, the spouse of the final victim was able to record a great deal of data on the activities of the stalker, and this data was made available to the authors. Since much of the data was recorded automatically via specialised software, it was extremely detailed. As an example, it was possible to examine the conversations between the victim and the stalker in great depth since they had been recorded in their entirety. It should be noted that the availability of such comprehensive data is

Cyberstalking in a Large Sample of Social Network Users: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Impact Upon Victims

“…Considering the large (and still growing) number of Internet users, cyberstalking can indeed be termed a frequent phenomenon. At the same time, our result shows that cyberstalking does not represent a mass phenomenon, as suggested by some studies, 2,4,[6][7][8] if definition criteria analogous to those of offline stalking are applied. Our prevalence estimate of cyberstalking also corresponds to the prevalence rates of other studies with rather restrictive definition criteria.…”

“…Furthermore, about half of the sample comprised non-students. As most of the existing cyberstalking studies rely on convenience samples, have small sample sizes, and/or exclusively investigate college samples, 2,4,5,6,11 this study offers a broader empirical data basis to shed light on cyberstalking and its impact upon victims.…”

“…The few estimates of cyberstalking victimization vary considerably across studies, ranging from 3.7% 5 to 82%. 6 These variations are primarily due to different definitions of the phenomenon. Studies that are based on broad inclusion criteria found prevalence rates for cyberstalking of approximately one third to almost half of the sample.…”

“…Studies that are based on broad inclusion criteria found prevalence rates for cyberstalking of approximately one third to almost half of the sample. 2,4,[6][7][8] Using a more restrictive definition of cyberstalking-for example, including a particular duration or quality of the unwanted contacts-far lower prevalence rates of 6%, 9 9%, 10 and 10-15% 11 were found. The latter estimates are comparable to those reported for population-based studies of (offline) stalking.…”

Criminal law, cyberbullying and other forms of (non-sexual) harassment in cyberspace

“…13 El cyberharassment, por tanto, incluiría todas las conductas de cyberbullying (y también de cyberstalking cuando se realiza sobre un adulto) cuando no son realizadas de forma continuada por el mismo sujeto o sujetos sobre la misma víctima, entre las cuales las más habituales son las siguientes: el envío de mensajes amenazantes o abusivos a través del correo electrónico, la mensajería instantánea o el chat; la publicación de información falsa sobre la víctima; la suplantación de identidad con fin de burla, de obtener información o de dañar de cualquier modo al sujeto; la intimidación o coacción a través de comunicación escrita o verbal por medio de Internet; el insulto o calumnia leve y grave; la incitación a otras personas al acoso o a proferir amenazas o a agredir a la víctima; el envío de software malicioso o de material pornográfico u ofensivo para dañar a la víctima, etc. 14 Los menores, por tanto, pueden sufrir, por parte de compañeros o de adultos, una amplia gama de ataques que pueden afectar a su honor, intimidad, libertad o dignidad. Para valorar la adecuada respuesta a los mismos, dado que no existe un tipo penal que delimite expresamente qué actos de cyberbullying y cuáles de las conductas de cyberharassment merecen respuesta penal, habrá que atender a los distintos bienes jurídicos afectados por los ataques.…”