Nature and prevalence of the problem and the effectiveness of anti-stalking measures

Stalking in the Netherlands

When browsing through the numerous publications on stalking the same questions appear over and over again. This book fills in various blanks in the social and scientific discourse on stalking. As an overall idea, it presents a research on the nature and prevalence of stalking in the Netherlands and on the effectiveness and (dis)advantages of certain legal anti-stalking measures, both criminal and civil. The combination of empiricism with legal reasoning makes this book multi-disciplinary. As a result, it is not an abstract, theoretical account, but a concrete and practical study.

Contents:
The book consists of four parts. The first part is an introductory part which starts with a description of the emergence of (the crime of) stalking, with the definition of stalking and with an overview of previous research into the different stalking tactics, victim and stalker profiles and consequences for the victims. It serves to give an impression of the current state-of-the-art of research in the field of stalking.
Part II of the book focuses on the nature and prevalence of stalking in the Netherlands. Here the results of two quantitative studies into the prevalence and nature of stalking in the Netherlands are being presented.
Part III deals with stalking and the criminal justice system. In Chapter 4, an interpretation of the constituent elements of the Dutch anti-stalking provision are being given. With the help of the parliamentary debates and case law, the meaning of open terms like ‘systematically’ or ‘a person’s privacy’ are being explained. A separate chapter contains the quantitative results of a victims’ questionnaire on the effectiveness and the (dis)advantages of the Dutch criminal justice system. Next to descriptive statistics, certain significant relations between different variables, such as arrest and deterrence, are being explored. To see whether there are additional (dis)advantages that are not covered by the questionnaire, 45 in-depth interviews with victims were held, the results of which are being presented. In order to give the criminal justice system the right to hear and be heard, the opinions of seven policemen and public prosecutors are also presented. After the deficiencies of the criminal law approach have been identified, the question is what possibilities there are – through legal reasoning – to take away some of the disadvantages for the victims.
The final part is about alternative anti-stalking measures. First the effectiveness and (dis)advantages are being treated of the interference of private protection and investigation agencies in stalking cases and a last chapter deals with the same issues, but then with civil restraining orders in mind.

About the author:
Suzan van der Aa is a researcher at the International Victimology Institute Tilburg (INTERVICT), at Tilburg Law School, The Netherlands. This book is her Ph D-thesis.

• ISBN: 978-90-466-0357-4
• Publisher: Maklu-Publishers
• Author: Suzan van der Aa
• Language: English

Price: 49.50 €

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