Stalking: Final Report (html)

2. Stalking and justice

Overview

• Stalking is a serious criminal offence that causes lasting harm but it can be difficult to identify. Actions that together amount to stalking can be legal on their own.

• Our work has been shaped by what we know about stalking. However, what we know is limited. There is a need for additional data and research on stalking.

• Stalking occurs in many different contexts but people from some communities appear more likely to be harmed and may find it especially hard to get justice.

• There are barriers to reporting stalking and getting justice.

How is stalking defined?

2.1 Under the law, stalking can include a range of behaviours that:

• are intended or likely to harm or frighten a person

• amount to ‘a course of conduct’.^[1]

2.2 A ‘course of conduct’ involves doing something more than once or for an extended period.^[2]

2.3 These are examples of behaviour that could be stalking if repeated with the intention of causing harm or fear (or being reckless about doing so):

• following a person

• contacting them

• threatening them

• publishing information about them

• interfering with their property or possessions

• tracing their use of information or communication technology or keeping them under surveillance.^[3]

2.4 Cyberstalking is stalking using information and communication technology. We discuss cyberstalking in Chapter 3.

2.5 Stalking can involve or lead to physical violence, but this is not always the case.^[4]

2.6 Sometimes stalking is limited to actions that in other contexts would be legal or even welcome. For example, if someone repeatedly gives another person unwanted gifts and will not stop when asked, this could be stalking.^[5] It is intrusive and disrespects the wishes of the person targeted. It deprives them of power over their own life, potentially causing distress and fear.^[6]

2.7 Usually people are stalked by someone they know, such as a partner or former partner, someone they have dated, a colleague or an acquaintance. People may also be stalked by strangers, but this is less common. We discuss this further below.

2.8 The justice response to stalking includes both criminal and civil (non-criminal) responses.

2.9 The civil law response deals separately with family violence stalking and non-family violence stalking.

2.10 Stalking by family members, including former partners, can be grounds for a family violence intervention order (FVIO).^[7] This is a civil court order, but it is a criminal offence to breach it.^[8]

2.11 Non-family violence stalking can be grounds for a personal safety intervention order (PSIO).^[9] Again, this is a civil court order, but it is a criminal offence to breach it.^[10]

2.12 We discuss the civil law response to stalking in Chapter 6 and the criminal law response in Chapter 7.

2.13 In this chapter we consider the effects of stalking, which can be devastating. We summarise what the available data indicates about stalking and the justice system’s response to it. We highlight the need for more research and data on stalking. We note that some communities may be more likely than others to experience stalking and we describe the barriers to reporting stalking and getting justice.

2.14 Stalking by anyone is a serious crime. Research suggests that stalking by partners or ex-partners is more likely to lead to extreme violence than other kinds of stalking.^[11] But family violence stalking has distinct dynamics, and a specialised response to family violence already exists (see Chapter 1). Less is known about other kinds of stalking and how to improve the legal response to this behaviour. Our focus here and throughout this report is on non-family violence stalking.

How does stalking affect people who experience it?

2.15 Being stalked can make people feel alone, ashamed, and afraid. It can cause fear and distress and leave scars that take years to heal.^[16]

2.16 People who have experienced stalking told us about its many negative effects on their:

• physical health

• mental health, with some saying it had made them suicidal

• relationships

• daily routines and sense of freedom and safety.

2.17 Many people described:

• the need for increased home security

• not being able to go to work or move freely in the community

• not being able to use social media.^[17]

2.18 Many emphasised the effects of stalking on their relationships and families, including children. One person told us:

2.19 Research indicates that people who stalk often harass the friends, families and acquaintances of the person they are stalking.^[19]

2.20 The serious and lasting effects of stalking that we heard about are supported by other research.^[20]

What does research suggest about stalking and the justice response to it?

2.21 Although we know about its impacts, stalking is still not well understood, either by the people who experience it or people who respond to it.^[21] There is a need for more research on stalking and for better education about identifying and responding to it. We discuss the need for education in Chapter 4.

2.22 In this report, we use these sources of data and analysis:

• the 2016 Personal Safety Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which provides the most recent information available from adult men and women in Australia about stalking experienced since the age of 15^[22]

• Crime Statistics Agency data on stalking offences recorded in Victoria from 2012–2021^[23]

• Sentencing Stalking in Victoria, by the Sentencing Advisory Council, including data on stalking reported to police and sentenced in Victorian courts from 2011–2020^[24]

• Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria, by the Sentencing Advisory Council, including data on breaches of these orders recorded by police and sentenced in Victoria from 2011–2020^[25]

• Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices, by the Sentencing Advisory Council, including data on breaches of these orders recorded by police and sentenced in Victoria from 2011–2020^[26]

• Attrition of Stalking Offence Incidents through the Victorian Criminal Justice System, by the Crime Statistics Agency, containing data on how stalking offences recorded in Victoria from 2016–2018 progressed through the justice system.^[27]

2.23 These sources do not provide a complete picture of stalking. We explain their limitations below. However, they do indicate:

• how common stalking is

• who is responsible for it

• who is affected by it

• how the law deals with it.

Stalking is widespread, gendered, and mostly linked to family violence

2.24 The data on stalking suggest it is:

• widespread

• gendered

• mostly linked to family violence.

2.25 The Personal Safety Survey estimated that nationwide, one in six women (17 per cent) and one in 15 men (7 per cent) have experienced stalking since the age of 15.^[28]

2.26 Of women who were stalked, a large majority (94 per cent) were stalked by a male, while men were almost equally likely to have been stalked by a female as by a male.^[29]

2.27 Most people were stalked by someone they knew, such as an intimate partner or former partner, work colleague, or acquaintance.^[30]

2.28 Among women who were stalked by a male, just under half (45 per cent) were stalked by an intimate partner or former partner.^[31] A quarter (25 per cent) did not know or have a past relationship with the person.^[32]

2.29 Men were much more likely to know the person stalking them (95 per cent) if that person was a female.^[33]

Most people who are stalked do not contact the police about it

2.30 The Personal Safety Survey found that half of all women who experienced stalking thought that the behaviour was wrong, but not a crime.^[34] Most did not contact the police about it.^[35]

2.31 Men were more likely to think being stalked was a crime (49 per cent) if they experienced stalking by a male.^[36] Most did not contact the police, although close to half (47 per cent) of men stalked by another man contacted the police about it.^[37]

2.32 Reasons women had for not contacting the police about stalking by a male included:

• feeling that they could deal with it themselves

• not regarding it as a serious offence

• thinking there was nothing police could do about it

• thinking police would not do anything about it

• not knowing or thinking it was a crime.^[38]

2.33 The most common reason men had for not contacting police about stalking by a female was the feeling that they could deal with it themselves.^[39]

2.34 Stalking rates seem to be similar in comparable places overseas, such as the United Kingdom^[40] and the United States.^[41] Low rates of reporting also appear to be common overseas.^[42]

Around two-thirds of stalking offences reported to police resulted in charges—one-third resulted in a finding of guilt

2.35 The Crime Statistics Agency found that of stalking offences reported to police between January 2016 and December 2018, around a third (33 per cent) did not result in charges.^[43] Another third (31 per cent) were charged and resulted in a finding of guilt.^[44] We discuss why stalking cases may not progress in Chapter 7.

2.36 For cases that went to court, almost half (49 per cent) resulted in a guilty finding for the stalking charges. Another 42 per cent resulted in a guilty finding for a non-stalking charge in the same case.^[45]

Figure 1: Attrition of stalking incidents through the Victorian criminal justice system, police-recorded incidents, 2016–2018^[46]

More stalking cases now relate to family violence

2.37 The number of stalking offences recorded by police in Victoria each year has not risen dramatically since 2012. However, the share of these offences that relate to family violence has increased since 2012 (see Table 1). This probably reflects an improved understanding in the community about family violence and increased reporting of it.^[47]

Table 1: Comparison of recorded stalking offences in Victoria, 2012 & 2021^[48]

2.38 Most stalking recorded by police since 2011 (52 per cent)^[49] and sentenced in Victorian courts since 2015 (68 per cent)^[50] has been part of family violence.

2.39 Just under one-fifth of stalking offences recorded by police since 2011 (17 per cent) involved strangers.^[51]

2.40 Compared to some other crimes against the person, stalking offences are recorded less often. For example, in 2021, family violence-related common assaults represented 240 offences for every 100,000 people, compared to 23 family violence-related stalking offences for every 100,000 people. Non-family violence-related common assaults represented 174 offences for every 100,000 people, compared to 17 non-family violence-related stalking offences for every 100,000 people.^[52]

What else does the data suggest about stalking offences in Victoria?

2.41 Table 2 sets out data analysed by the Sentencing Advisory Council in its report on stalking offences recorded by police and sentenced by courts from 2011 to 2020 in Victoria.^[53]

Table 2: Stalking recorded by police and sentenced in Victoria from 2011–2020

What does the data suggest about personal safety and family violence orders?

2.42 We heard that rather than file stalking charges, police tend to respond to stalking by a non-family member by suggesting that the person being stalked should apply for a PSIO.^[65] Police may also apply for a PSIO on behalf of the person reporting. The data suggests they are increasingly doing this: police made 23 per cent of PSIO applications in 2014–2015, rising to 41 per cent of PSIO applications in 2019–2020.^[66]

2.43 If a family member is involved, the person being stalked or the police can apply for a FVIO.^[67] The police can also issue a family violence safety notice—a temporary measure in place until a court can decide if it will issue an interim or final FVIO.^[68]

2.44 Table 3 shows trends in PSIOs^[69] and FVIOs from 2011 to 2020, and in family violence safety notices from 2012 to 2020, when they were introduced.^[70]

Table 3: Personal safety intervention orders (PSIOs) (2011–2020) and family violence intervention orders (FVIOs) (2011–2020) in Victoria

There is a need for additional research and data on stalking

2.45 The only available nationwide data on stalking comes from the Personal Safety Survey. However, the survey:

• does not specifically separate out family violence and non-family violence stalking^[100]

• does not provide information on the prevalence of stalking among some communities that may find it especially difficult to get justice. For example, children under 15 years, LGBTIQA+ people, sex workers, people living in detention and other institutional environments, and people with uncertain migration status.^[101]

2.46 In Chapter 3 we note that the prevalence of cyberstalking among these communities is also a data gap.

2.47 The Personal Safety Survey is now dated. The next survey has not been scheduled.^[102] More recently published nationwide crime statistics do not include stalking data.^[103]

2.48 The Crime Statistics Agency and Sentencing Advisory Council reports and analysis (summarised earlier) help improve our understanding of stalking in Victoria. But issues remain:

• Little is known about stalking that is not reported to or recorded by police.^[104]

• Stalking behaviour may be prosecuted as other criminal offences, so it is not captured in statistics about criminal prosecutions.^[105]

• We have little insight into stalking cases that are the subject of a PSIO because the data on applications and breaches does not separate out stalking.

• We have little insight into stalking that is the subject of a FVIO because the data does not separate out stalking.^[106]

• Not much is known about the different forms of non-family violence stalking sentenced in the courts: for example, stalking by an acquaintance versus stalking by a stranger. We have little insight into any trends such as how long the stalking lasted and the levels of violence involved.^[107]

2.49 At the moment, our understanding of stalking is limited. If the data was more detailed and extensive it would be easier to design responses that are effective and tailored for the people who experience stalking and those who engage in it. Therefore we recommend the Victorian Government provide support for additional research on stalking.

2.50 Later in this report we discuss the need for more research on responding to stalking, including alternative pathways for children (Chapter 6), the progress of stalking offences through the criminal justice system (Chapter 7) and interventions for people who stalk (Chapter 8).

Some communities appear to experience stalking at higher rates than average

2.51 From the limited data available, it appears that some communities are more likely to experience stalking than others.

2.52 People in these communities can face serious barriers to reporting and getting justice. This can be because of discrimination and the justice system’s failure to take their needs into account.^[108]

2.53 Djirra pointed out that Aboriginal women with acquired brain injuries are more likely to experience violence, including stalking. But they are often wrongly identified by police as perpetrators of violence.^[109]

2.54 There is little data on Aboriginal people’s experience of stalking, but it is likely that Aboriginal women and girls experience higher rates and more extreme forms of stalking than non-Indigenous women.^[110] While Aboriginal people make up roughly one per cent of Victoria’s population,^[111] 2.2 per cent of people who were reported to have experienced stalking in Victoria between 2016 and 2018 were Aboriginal.^[112]

2.55 One-fifth of all people protected by PSIOs made in the Magistrates’ Court are children (though these are not all stalking cases).^[113] Children and young people in regional and rural areas are over-represented in PSIO Children’s Court applications, both as protected persons and as respondents.^[114]

2.56 Children and young people are often the targets of cyberstalking (see Chapter 3).

2.57 LGBTIQA+ young people may be at higher risk of being stalked than heterosexual youth.^[115] The Victorian Pride Lobby told us that even though young LGBTIQA+ people experience stalking at a higher rate, reports to police are limited.^[116]

2.58 The Personal Safety Survey found that young adults are more likely to experience stalking than older people. The likelihood of being stalked appears to decrease with age (see Table 4).^[117]

Table 4: Proportion of people who experienced stalking in the last 12 months by age bracket

2.59 People with disabilities or long-term health conditions may be more likely to experience stalking than people without these conditions: the Personal Safety Survey found that 3.1 per cent of people with disabilities or long-term health conditions experienced stalking over a 12-month period, compared to 2.1 per cent of people without disability or a long-term health condition.^[118]

2.60 People with disabilities or long-term health conditions may find it particularly difficult to get police to take their reports of stalking seriously. As one victim survivor told us:

2.61 Red Files operates a harm prevention service for sex workers. Stalking-related offences are among the top three to five crimes reported to it. Stalking ranks higher on this list than rape.^[120] But sex workers may not report stalking because of negative experiences with police.

2.62 We were told that stalking is a problem for people from some multicultural communities. They may not seek help because they do not trust the police or they may fear other outcomes, such as community backlash.^[122]

2.63 People born in other countries reported lower rates of stalking in the Personal Safety Survey (two per cent in the past 12 months) than people born in Australia (three per cent in the past 12 months).^[124] This could be because they are less familiar with what stalking is. They may also be more wary of reporting to authorities. We discuss what people know about stalking in Chapter 4, and barriers to reporting are discussed below.

2.64 Older people do not appear to be statistically at risk of being stalked. This may reflect low reporting rates, and barriers they face to seeking justice. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety emphasised ‘how vulnerable older people were to the actions of others, many of whom they depended on for support, care and their quality of life.’^[125]

2.65 Males are less likely than females to experience stalking.^[126] However, when they do, they may be less likely to seek help from friends or family,^[127] and less likely to report the stalking to police.^[128] They may find the experience of reporting particularly difficult.^[129] We heard from male victim survivors who had difficult experiences with the police.

2.66 In our interim report we made recommendations to improve the police response to stalking reports.^[131]

What are the barriers to reporting stalking and getting justice?

2.67 Table 5 sets out what we know about barriers to reporting stalking and getting justice, based on data, research, and what we were told during this inquiry.

Table 5: A sample of barriers to reporting

2.68 In the following chapters, we make recommendations designed to overcome these barriers. Our interim report, published in April 2022, focused on addressing barriers that relate to police.

1. Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 21A: see generally Chapter 7 of this report. See also Personal Safety Intervention Orders Act 2010 (Vic) s 10.

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2. See the discussion in Chapter 7 of this report.

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3. Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 21A. See also the examples of stalking behaviour used in the Personal Safety Survey: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Web Page, 11 August 2017) <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release>.

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4. Troy McEwan, Paul E Mullen and Rosemary Purcell, ‘Identifying Risk Factors in Stalking: A Review of Current Research’ (2007) 30(1) International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 1, 2.

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5. See, eg, Emma Ogilvie, Stalking: Legislation, Policing and Prosecution Patterns in Australia (Research and Public Policy Series Report No 34, Australian Institute of Criminology, 2000) xii, 1–2; Michelle Sibenik, ‘A Critical Analysis of the Applications of Anti-Stalking Legislation in Victoria, Australia’ (PhD Thesis, Monash University, 2018) 1.

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6. Paul E Mullen, Michele Pathé and Rosemary Purcell, ‘Stalking: New Constructions of Human Behaviour’ (2001) 35(1) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 9, 9–11.

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7. Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) pt 4. The Family Violence Protection Act does not specifically address stalking but how it defines ‘family violence’ is broad enough to include stalking behaviours. Family violence is behaviour directed at a family member that is physically, sexually, emotionally, psychologically or economically abusive; threatening; coercive; or ‘in any other way controls or dominates’ the family member and causes that family member to feel fear for their safety or wellbeing or that of another person: at s 5(1). See also s 176G(1)(a)(ii). ‘Family members’ are defined to include current or former partners, people who are or have been in intimate relationships (and their children), current or former relatives, children who normally or regularly reside (or previously did so) with the relevant person, or a person who is or was reasonably regarded as being a family member, given the overall circumstances of the relationship (for example, a carer or someone culturally recognised as a relative):

   at s 8. See also Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) [2.4].

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8. Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) ss 123, 123A, 125A.

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9. Personal Safety Intervention Orders Act 2010 (Vic) ss 1, 10.

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10. Ibid s 100.

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11. Tim Boehnlein et al, ‘Responding to Stalking Victims: Perceptions, Barriers, and Directions for Future Research’ (2020) 35(7) Journal of Family Violence 755, 756–7; Jeff Gavin and Adrian J Scott, ‘The Influence of the Sex of and Prior Relationship between the Perpetrator and Victim on Perceptions of Stalking: A Qualitative Analysis’ (2016) 23(5) Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 716, 718; Troy E McEwan and Michael R Davis, ‘Is There a “Best” Stalking Typology?: Parsing the Heterogeneity of Stalking and Stalkers in an Australian Sample’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 115, 132; Troy McEwan, Paul E Mullen and Rosemary Purcell, ‘Identifying Risk Factors in Stalking: A Review of Current Research’ (2007) 30(1) International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 1, 2–3; Adrian J Scott and Lorraine Sheridan, ‘“Reasonable” Perceptions of Stalking: The Influence of Conduct Severity and the Perpetrator–Target Relationship’ (2011) 17(4) Psychology, Crime and Law 331, 332; Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) xi [2.15]–[2.16]. Other factors that may increase the likelihood or seriousness of harms arising from stalking include threatened or actual violence; whether the offender has substance abuse issues; whether the offender has a history of property damage (especially for former partners); whether the offender has physically approached the victim; and the gender of the offender and the victim: with male stalkers being more common than female stalkers, female victims being more common than male victims, and female victims of male stalkers experiencing more fear: at [2.16].

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12. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

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13. Ibid.

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14. Ibid.

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15. Ibid.

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16. Lise Linn Larsen, Dianna Bomholt and Helle Hundahl, ‘Stalking as a Phenomenon in a Danish Context’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: International Perspectives (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 195, 201–2; Submission 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science); Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

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17. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

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18. Submission 21 (Antoinette Lim).

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19. In a study of 143 females who experienced stalking, Assistant Professor Matthew Raj found that in 45% of cases the person who stalked harassed not just the main victim survivor but also people around them such as friends, children, partners, neighbours, or work colleagues: Submission 51 (Matthew Raj).

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20. See, eg, Jenny Korkodeilou, ‘“No Place to Hide”—Stalking Victimisation and Its Psycho-Social Effects’ (2017) 23(1) International Review of Victimology 17; Adrian J Scott et al, ‘Public Familiarity and Understanding of Stalking/Harassment Legislation in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 137, 138; Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) [2.14]–[2.16]; Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 12.

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21. Submissions 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science), 39 (Victorian Pride Lobby), 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner); Consultation 17 (Small group meeting on stalking and young people); Cleo Brandt and Bianca Voerman, ‘The Dutch Model: A New Approach to Policing Stalking’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 251, 256–61. In relation to the criminal offence of stalking, a study conducted by Scott et al found that less than one-fifth (17%) of Victorians said they were familiar with the legislation regulating stalking. Among those who said they were familiar with the provisions of the Crimes Act, the authors assessed this familiarity as ‘extremely rudimentary’: Adrian J Scott et al, ‘Public Familiarity and Understanding of Stalking/Harassment Legislation in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 137, 141, 144, 152.

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22. ‘Adult’ men and women are aged 18 years or over: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Web Page, 11 August 2017) <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release>. The survey defined stalking as involving ‘various behaviours, such as loitering and following, which the person [who reported being stalked] believed were … undertaken with the intent to cause them fear or distress. To be classified as stalking more than one type of behaviour had to occur, or the same type of behaviour had to occur on more than one occasion.’: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia Methodology 2016 (Web Page, 8 November 2017) Glossary <https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/personal-safety-australia-methodology/2016>. Note that a separate Australian Bureau of Statistics source uses data from the previous 2012 Personal Safety Survey: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Stalking—In Focus: Crime and Justice Statistics (Web Page, 14 June 2017) <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/focus-crime-and-justice-statistics/june-2017>.

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23. ‘Recorded Offences’, Crime Statistics Agency (Vic) (Web Page, March 2022) <https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/crime-statistics/latest-victorian-crime-data/recorded-offences-2>.

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24. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022).

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25. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022).

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26. The report considers family violence safety notices issued by police between 2012 and 2020 (the nine years during which data was available) and FVIOs issued by courts over the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) [3.1].

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27. Sarah Bright, Lauren Barnaba and Melanie Millsteed, Attrition of Stalking Offence Incidents through the Victorian Criminal Justice System (Data Snapshot, Crime Statistics Agency, forthcoming).

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28. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Web Page, 11 August 2017) Experience of Stalking <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release>; Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 34.3. Throughout this chapter, percentages of 0.5 and above are rounded up and 0.4 and below are rounded down. For example, 6.5% becomes 7% and 6.4% becomes 6%.

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29. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Web Page, 11 August 2017) Experience of stalking <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release>; Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 34.3.

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30. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Web Page, 11 August 2017) Experience of stalking <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release>; Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Tables 35.3, 36.3.

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31. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 35.3 . In the Personal Safety Survey, ‘intimate partner’ is defined as including ‘current partner (living with), previous partner (has lived with), boyfriend/girlfriend/date and ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend (never lived with)’: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia Methodology 2016 (Web Page, 8 November 2017) Glossary <https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/personal-safety-australia-methodology/2016>.

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32. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 35.3.

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33. It was almost equally likely that they knew (54%) or did not know (48%) the male person stalking them: ibid Table 36.3. The Australian Bureau of Statistics explains why these figures do not add up to 100%: ‘Cells in this table have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data. Discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.’

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34. Ibid Table 35.3. The figures are similar regardless of whether the stalking was by a male (48% of women thought the stalking was wrong but not a crime) or a female (51% of women thought the stalking was wrong but not a crime).

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35. 29% of women contacted police about stalking by a male and 37% contacted police about stalking by a female: at Table 37.3.

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36. Ibid Table 36.3.

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37. Ibid Table 37.3. Only 18% of men contacted the police about stalking by a female.

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38. Ibid.

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39. Ibid.

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40. According to the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, around one in five women and one in 10 men will experience stalking in their lifetimes in the United Kingdom: Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 3.

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41. Data from the United States suggests that around one in six women and one in 17 men have been stalked at least once in their lives: Adrian J Scott et al, ‘Public Familiarity and Understanding of Stalking/Harassment Legislation in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 137, 138; Erica R Fissel, Bradford W Reyns and Bonnie S Fisher, ‘Stalking and Cyberstalking Victimization Research: Taking Stock of Key Conceptual, Definitional, Prevalence, and Theoretical Issues’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 11, 17. McKeon et al cite research published in 2010 suggesting that around 20% of people in English-speaking industrialised nations report having experienced stalking in their lifetime: Bronwyn McKeon, Troy E McEwan and Stefan Luebbers, ‘“It’s Not Really Stalking If You Know the Person”: Measuring Community Attitudes That Normalize, Justify and Minimise Stalking’ (2015) 22(2) Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 291, 291.

    ↑

42. For example, a recent survey of people who had experienced stalking in England and Wales found that more than a third (37%) of respondents had not reported the stalking to the police: Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 8, noting that 63% did report the stalking to police. In the United States, most stalking cases are not reported to the police: Erica R Fissel, Bradford W Reyns and Bonnie S Fisher, ‘Stalking and Cyberstalking Victimization Research: Taking Stock of Key Conceptual, Definitional, Prevalence, and Theoretical Issues’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 11, 18.

    ↑

43. Sarah Bright, Lauren Barnaba and Melanie Millsteed, Attrition of Stalking Offence Incidents through the Victorian Criminal Justice System (Data Snapshot, Crime Statistics Agency, forthcoming).

    ↑

44. Ibid 1. A finding of guilt may follow from the accused entering a guilty plea or the court finding the accused guilty based on the evidence.

    ↑

45. Ibid.

    ↑

46. Graphic taken from: ibid 1, Figure 1.

    ↑

47. The Sentencing Advisory Council attributes a marked increase in family violence orders and police recorded and sentenced breaches of these orders over the decade to 2020 to the same factors: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) 5–6.

    ↑

48. ‘Recorded Offences’, Crime Statistics Agency (Vic) (Web Page, March 2022) Table 1 (Offences recorded and rate per 100,000 population by offence type, 2012 to 2021) <https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/crime-statistics/latest-victorian-crime-data/recorded-offences-2>. Percentages for the year 2021 in this table do not add to 100 because they have been rounded up.

    ↑

49. Of stalking offences recorded by police from 2011 to 2020: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) [3.11].

    ↑

50. Of stalking cases sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court from 2015 to 2020: ibid [5.4].

    ↑

51. Ibid [3.11]. We do not have figures for the percentage of stalking cases sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court that involved strangers. This level of detail is not flagged in court data about the cases. The volume of cases in the Magistrates’ Court prevented analysis in the reports we commissioned from the Sentencing Advisory Council. The Sentencing Advisory Council analysed 69 stalking cases sentenced in the higher courts between 2011 and 2020 where the relationship was discernible. Among these, the most common relationship was former intimate partners (52%), followed by acquaintances with no prior romantic relationship (25%) and strangers (13%): at [6.13].

    ↑

52. ‘Recorded Offences’, Crime Statistics Agency (Vic) (Web Page, March 2022) Table 1 (Offences recorded and rate per 100,000 population by offence type, January 2012 to December 2021) <https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/crime-statistics/latest-victorian-crime-data/recorded-offences-2>.

    ↑

53. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) ix.

    ↑

54. These are reported offences that may or may not be charged. Note as well that not all reports to police are recorded (see Figure 1).

    ↑

55. The figures for each year during the reference period were relatively stable, with a low of 1,760 in 2011 and a high of 2,963 in 2014. After 2011, the number of recorded offences did not fall below 2,312, which was the number of offences recorded in 2012: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) 21, Figure 2.

    ↑

56. Ibid x, 23, Figure 4.

    ↑

57. ‘Between 2011 and 2020, Victorian courts sentenced 6,832 stalking charges in 5,444 cases’: ibid x.

    ↑

58. Ibid.

    ↑

59. These figures cover all age categories from 10 to 55 and over. However, while males accounted for between 85% and 90% of all recorded stalking offenders in almost every age category, the percentage dropped to 72% of recorded stalkers aged 10 to 19. The Sentencing Advisory Council suggests ‘This is probably partially explained by lower rates of intimate partner violence, which is strongly gendered, among this age group’: ibid [3.9], Figure 5.

    ↑

60. Ibid [3.10].

    ↑

61. Ibid [5.5]–[5.6], Figure 12.

    ↑

62. Ibid [4.2]–[4.3].

    ↑

63. Ibid [4.5], citing Purcell’s review of 299 restraining order applications in the Melbourne Children’s Court that were filed in response to stalking behaviour in the late 2000s.

    ↑

64. Ibid [5.16].

    ↑

65. Advocacy and peak bodies for young people told us, ‘The general feedback [from young people] is that when they go to the police, they are told an intervention order is the only option at this stage and that it is in their own hands: Consultation 17 (Small group meeting on stalking and young people). Victoria Police noted that ‘Course of conduct offending is particularly problematic for police. This could be because it requires a more sophisticated understanding of the offence and the time involved. It can be more straightforward to advise a person to obtain an intervention order and then charge for a breach of intervention order if the behaviour continues’: Consultation 3 (Victoria Police (No 1)). The Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science told us that ‘it is our experience that police frequently advise people to obtain a personal safety intervention order (PSIO) as a first response, even when there is ample evidence of a course of conduct causing psychological harm’: Submission 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science). See also Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [4.3].

    ↑

66. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) xi [4.3].

    ↑

67. Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) pt 4; Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) [2.9].

    ↑

68. Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) pt 3 div 2; Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) [2.2], [2.5]–[2.8].

    ↑

69. To obtain the annual figures for PSIOs in this table, the total was divided by 9.33, representing the nine years and four months covered by the data (from September 2011, when the PSIO framework came into effect, to 31 December 2020): Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) ix.

    ↑

70. All data on PSIOs from Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022). All data on FVIOs from Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022).

    ↑

71. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) ix (combined Magistrates’ and Children’s Court applications). While the overall number of PSIO applications in the Magistrates’ Court increased from year to year, from 9,566 in 2012 to 11,647 in 2020, the per capita rate of applications was steady: ibid [4.2], Figure 8.

    ↑

72. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) ix.

    ↑

73. Ibid viii.

    ↑

74. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) viii (combined Magistrates’ and Children’s Court applications).

    ↑

75. Based on the figures in ibid viii.

    ↑

76. Ibid.

    ↑

77. 93,510 divided by nine; covering the period 2012 –2020: Ibid.

    ↑

78. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [5.2], Figure 16.

    ↑

79. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) [4.2]. The Sentencing Advisory Council cites an annual figure of ‘about 32,000’.

    ↑

80. Based on the figures in ibid viii.

    ↑

81. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) ix.

    ↑

82. Ibid.

    ↑

83. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) [5.2].

    ↑

84. Ibid.

    ↑

85. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [3.9], [4.14].

    ↑

86. Ibid [4.14].

    ↑

87. Ibid [3.9].

    ↑

88. Ibid [3.9], [4.14].

    ↑

89. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) [3.15].

    ↑

90. Ibid [3.27].

    ↑

91. Ibid [3.27].

    ↑

92. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [4.9]–[4.10], Figure 14.

    ↑

93. Ibid [4.7]–[4.8].

    ↑

94. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) xii.

    ↑

95. However, the Sentencing Advisory Council points out that ‘while PSIOs are in theory designed for non-family violence contexts, almost one-third of people who breach them are also family violence offenders.’ Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [7.6]. For discussion of the sometimes ‘blurred line between family and non-family members’: see Ibid [2.3].

    ↑

96. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [3.8], Figure 7.

    ↑

97. Ibid.

    ↑

98. Most protected persons were aged 10 to 19, but a proportion were females aged 30 to 49. Stakeholders suggested to the Sentencing Advisory Council that these protected persons would mostly be the child respondent’s teachers and other school staff: ibid [3.6].

    ↑

99. The Sentencing Advisory Council says it is possible in theory for the Children’s Court to have jurisdiction over a case involving an adult respondent and a child applicant. ‘But the legislation seems to suggest that the Children’s Court jurisdiction is primarily directed towards circumstances where the respondent is a child’: ibid [3.7] (emphasis in original).

    ↑

100. However, stalking by intimate partners and by relatives and in-laws can be separated out: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Tables 35.1, 36.1.

     ↑

101. The survey is limited to people living in private dwellings: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia Methodology 2016 (Web Page, 8 November 2017) [9] < https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/personal-safety-australia-methodology/2016>. However, information is available in relation to, among other things, various age brackets, socio-economic status, whether born overseas (in an English or non-English speaking country) and disability status: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 38.1.

     ↑

102. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Web Page, 11 August 2017) <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release>.

     ↑

103. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Crime Victimisation, Australia, 2020–21 Financial Year, (Web Page, 22 February 2022) <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/crime-victimisation-australia/latest-release>.

     ↑

104. The data on personal safety intervention orders provides some indication of how widespread unreported stalking is, given most of these orders contain conditions covering stalking as well as other behaviours and more than half are sought by private individuals rather than the police. But this measure is rough, because these orders can cover a range of non-stalking as well as stalking behaviours. ‘Eight conditions were almost always attached to PSIOs in the Magistrates’ Court, including barring the respondent from engaging in prohibited behaviour against the protected person (98% of final PSIOs) … [and] stalking the protected person (95%)…’: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) xi [4.11], Figure 15. As discussed earlier, the Personal Safety Survey found that most people who had experienced stalking did not contact the police about it: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 35.3.

     ↑

105. The Sentencing Advisory Council points out that ‘Stalking-like behaviours are very frequently charged or sentenced as a combination of incident-based offences (such as property damage, breach of an intervention order and making a threat to kill) without a stalking charge.’: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) xiii. For a discussion of why stalking offences are sometimes charged but dropped in plea negotiations: Ibid.

     ↑

106. Stalking may be charged as a separate offence alongside breaches of family violence orders but we do not have data on how often this occurs. For an example of a case where stalking was charged alongside breach of a family violence order and other offences, see the case study of DPP v Brien [2017] VCC 89 in Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices (Report, May 2022) 53. As noted earlier, the Family Violence Protection Act does not specifically address stalking but how it defines ‘family violence’ is broad enough to include stalking behaviours. Family violence is behaviour directed at a family member that is physically, sexually, emotionally, psychologically or economically abusive; threatening; coercive; or ‘in any other way controls or dominates’ the family member and causes that family member to feel fear for their safety or wellbeing or that of another person: Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) s 5(1): see also s 176G(1)(a)(ii).

     ↑

107. However, the Crimes Statistics Agency provides information on the numbers and types of non-family violence stalking offences recorded by police: ‘Recorded Offences’, Crime Statistics Agency (Vic) (Web Page, September 2020) Table 5—Selected offences by offence code and description, 2012 to 2021 <https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/crime-statistics/latest-victorian-crime-data/recorded-offences-2>. The elements of the stalking offence charged can provide insights but this kind of information is not captured in most data analysis. For some insights: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) [5.8].

     ↑

108. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner); Consultation 8 (eSafety Commissioner).

     ↑

109. Submission 41 (Djirra).

     ↑

110. See generally K Cripps et al, Attitudes towards Violence against Women and Gender Equality among Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islanders—Findings from the 2017 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) (ANROWS Insights No 3, 2019) 10 .

     ↑

111. Based on figures in Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (Web Page, 31 August 2018) <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/estimates-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians/latest-release>.

     ↑

112. Sarah Bright, Lauren Barnaba and Melanie Millsteed, Attrition of Stalking Offence Incidents through the Victorian Criminal Justice System (Data Snapshot, Crime Statistics Agency, forthcoming).

     ↑

113. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [4.10].

     ↑

114. Ibid [3.9].

     ↑

115. Gianna E Davis, Denise A Hines and Kathleen M Palm Reed, ‘Routine Activities and Stalking Victimization in Sexual Minority College Students’ [2021] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260521991879:1–29, 1; Erica R Fissel, Bradford W Reyns and Bonnie S Fisher, ‘Stalking and Cyberstalking Victimization Research: Taking Stock of Key Conceptual, Definitional, Prevalence, and Theoretical Issues’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 11, 21. Research also shows they are at higher risk of cyberbullying by comparison to their heterosexual peers: Roberto L Abreu and Maureen C Kenny, ‘Cyberbullying and LGBTQ Youth: A Systematic Literature Review and Recommendations for Prevention and Intervention’ (2018) 11(1) Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma 81, 81.

     ↑

116. Consultation 28 (Victorian Pride Lobby).

     ↑

117. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 38.1.

     ↑

118. Ibid Table 38.3. The figures do not distinguish between family violence and non-family violence stalking. Women with disability are more likely to experience stalking (3.7% in the last 12 months) than men with disability (2.5% in the last 12 months): at

     Table 38.3.

     ↑

119. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

120. Consultation 28 (Victorian Pride Lobby). The Victorian Pride Lobby also noted that ‘A move away from the criminalisation of sex work and a change in police culture to improve relations with sex workers will improve the reporting rates and personal safety of sex workers’.

     ↑

121. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

122. Consultations 30 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith lawyers and legal stakeholders), 31 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith community organisations); Letter from Centre for Multicultural Youth to Victorian Law Reform Commission, 25 November 2021. See also Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking (Consultation Paper, June 2021) 5 [1.19]. Research conducted in the United States showed that Anglo-Saxon females were more likely to seek informal help for stalking and to report the stalking to police than people of other races and genders: Bradford W Reyns and Christine M Englebrecht, ‘Informal and Formal Help-Seeking Decisions of Stalking Victims in the United States’ (2014) 41(10) Criminal Justice and Behavior 1178, 1189.

     ↑

123. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

124. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 38.3 (Experience of stalking in the last 12 months by sociodemographic characteristics, proportion of persons).

     ↑

125. Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Final Report, Summary and Recommendations, 1 March 2021) vol 1, 34.

     ↑

126. See, eg, Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘Experience of stalking’, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Web Page, 11 August 2017) <https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release>; Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 34.3; Harald Dressing et al, ‘The Prevalence and Effects of Stalking’ (2020) 117(20) Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 347, 348.

     ↑

127. Bradford W Reyns and Christine M Englebrecht, ‘Informal and Formal Help-Seeking Decisions of Stalking Victims in the United States’ (2014) 41(10) Criminal Justice and Behavior 1178, 1186.

     ↑

128. If they are experiencing stalking by a female: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Experience of Stalking—Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 (Data Table No 49060DO0007, 8 November 2017) Table 37.3. See also discussion in this chapter.

     ↑

129. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021); Submission 56 (Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party).

     ↑

130. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

131. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking (Interim Report No 44, December 2021).

     ↑

132. For example, a respondent to a survey in England and Wales who had experienced stalking said, ‘It was quite subtle at first and took me a while to figure [out] what was occurring’, while another said, ‘I didn’t think it was serious enough [to report] and I could be over reacting’: Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 9. In its submission, Djirra pointed out that ‘stalking behaviour is cumulative and may not be easily identified by the victim, which can make it difficult to report’: Submission 41 (Djirra). See also Submissions 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science), 95 (Springvale Monash Legal Service Inc.), 97 (Federation of Community Legal Centres), 98 (Law Institute of Victoria), 100 (Forensicare); Consultation 27 (Kulturbrille).

     ↑

133. Consultations 5 (Harmful Sexual Behaviours Network), 8 (eSafety Commissioner), 16 (Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare: Young People and Stalking).),

     ↑

134. This was a concern for a small number of survey respondents who had experienced stalking in England and Wales: Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 9.

     ↑

135. Adrian J Scott et al, ‘Public Familiarity and Understanding of Stalking/Harassment Legislation in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 137, 138. See also Submissions 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science), 100 (Forensicare); Consultations 4 (Sexual Assault Services Network), 17 (Small group meeting on stalking and young people).

     ↑

136. Submission 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science); Consultation 30 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith lawyers and legal stakeholders).

     ↑

137. Consultations 30 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith lawyers and legal stakeholders), 31 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith community organisations).

     ↑

138. Submissions 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science) 49, (Victims of Crime Commissioner), 100 (Forensicare); Consultations 4 (Sexual Assault Services Network), 8 (eSafety Commissioner); Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 9.

     ↑

139. Consultation 19 (Community legal sector roundtable); Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 8.

     ↑

140. Consultation 21 (Small group meeting on stalking and women with disabilities).

     ↑

141. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

142. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021). See also Michelle Sibenik, ‘A Critical Analysis of the Applications of Anti-Stalking Legislation in Victoria, Australia’ (PhD Thesis, Monash University, 2018) 55–6; Consultation 4 (Sexual Assault Services Network); Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking (Interim Report No 44, December 2021) [2.37]–[2.45].

     ↑

143. Suzan van der Aa and Anne Groenen, ‘Identifying the Needs of Stalking Victims and the Responsiveness of the Criminal Justice System: A Qualitative Study in Belgium and the Netherlands’ (2010) 6(1) Victims & Offenders 19, 30. See also Submission 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science); Cleo Brandt and Bianca Voerman, ‘The Dutch Model: A New Approach to Policing Stalking’ in Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (John Wiley and Sons, 2020) 251, 267–8.

     ↑

144. Submissions 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science), 56 (Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party); Consultation 19 (Community legal sector roundtable); Tim Boehnlein et al, ‘Responding to Stalking Victims: Perceptions, Barriers, and Directions for Future Research’ (2020) 35(7) Journal of Family Violence 755, 755; Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 9.

     ↑

145. See, eg, Submission 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science); Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 9.

     ↑

146. Bronwyn McKeon, Troy E McEwan and Stefan Luebbers, ‘“It’s Not Really Stalking If You Know the Person”: Measuring Community Attitudes That Normalize, Justify and Minimise Stalking’ (2015) 22(2) Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 291, 300.

     ↑

147. Submission 51 (Matthew Raj). See also Consultation 4 (Sexual Assault Services Network).

     ↑

148. Consultation 4 (Sexual Assault Services Network).

     ↑

149. Submission 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science).

     ↑

150. A survey in England and Wales found that among respondents who reported stalking behaviour to police, most (60%) did not have any civil or criminal law protections put in place following the report: Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Unmasking Stalking: A Changing Landscape (Report, April 2021) 11.

     ↑

151. Submission 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science); Harald Dressing et al, ‘The Prevalence and Effects of Stalking’ (2020) 117(20) Deutsches Ärzteblatt International 347, 352.

     ↑

152. As discussed earlier in this chapter.

     ↑