The Criminal Justice System Response to Intimate Partner Stalking: a Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative R
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REVIEW ARTICLE
The Criminal Justice System Response to Intimate Partner Stalking: a Systematic Review of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Bethany L. Backes 1
&
Lisa Fedina 2 & Jennifer Lynne Holmes 3
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Intimate partner stalking (IPS) is a significant public health and public safety issue, yet it remains a largely understudied area especially related to effective practices for victim engagement and response. This study uses systematic review methods to assess the range of criminal justice responses to IPS victimization and the extent to which these responses are successful in promoting survivor safety, well-being, and justice. Multiple scholarly and gray-literature databases were searched to locate studies on criminal justice responses to IPS. Over 336 records were reviewed dating back to 1993 and screened for inclusion in the study, resulting in a final sample size of 22 studies. Findings identify both formal and informal strategies used by the criminal justice system to address IPS. However, pervasive barriers exist including a lack of knowledge and training on stalking, difficulties in investigation and prosecution, and negative perceptions of victims. Successful strategies for mitigating IPS were linked to increased training of law enforcement and prosecution and the granting and enforcement of civil protective orders. Complexity of charging decisions was identified as a challenge for criminal justice entities and methodological and definitional issues make stalking a difficult area to study. Despite numerous barriers in effectively responding to victims of IPS, recommendations for improving responses across the criminal justice system include enhanced training and periodic refreshers across criminal justice entities, coordinated reviews of IPS cases, and better incorporation of the stalker’s criminal history to strategically pursue charges. Keywords Stalking . Intimate partner stalking . Criminal justice response . Systematic review . Intimate partner violence
Introduction Over 3.3 million people are stalked every year in the United States (Catalano 2012). Women experience stalking victimization at significantly higher rates than men. Over 15% of women and 6% of men have experienced stalking * Bethany L. Backes [email protected] Lisa Fedina [email protected] Jennifer Lynne Holmes [email protected] 1
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd, HPA 1, Orlando, FL 32816, USA
2
University of Michigan, School of Social Work, 1080 S. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
3
Washington DC, USA
victimization in their lifetime (Black et al. 2011; Breiding et al. 2015). The majority of stalking victims (66% of women and 44% of men) are stalked by current or former intimate partners. Intimate partner stalking (IPS) is defined as a “course of conduct directed at a specific person that involves repeated (two or more occasions) visual or physical proximity, nonconsensual commu
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