The Criminalisation of Stalking: Constructing the Problem and Evaluating the Solution

The challenges which stalking poses to the legal system and society have yet to be subjected to rigorous academic evaluation. This book aims to redress this situation by examining both how stalking became perceived as a pressing social problem, and the efficacy and sufficiency of legal responses.

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Stalking has been described as psychological rape,the crime of the nineties, a celebrity problem and a media created moral panic. However, no satisfactory definition exists and the challenges which stalking poses to both the legal system and society have yet to be subjected to rigorous academic evaluation. This book redresses this situation by drawing upon a range of methodologies to present a thorough and comprehensive examination of the way in which stalking became perceived as a pressing and prevalent social problem in need of legal intervention and a critical evaluation of the efficacy and sufficiency of the legal responses. Essentially, this book has two objectives. First, to provide a comprehensive account of the process by which stalking came to be regarded as a significant social problem which merited legal intervention and a thorough evaluation of the efficacy of that response. Secondly, to situate this within a wider theoretical context which addresses the role of the criminal law in dealing with social problems and the boundaries of criminalisation.
This illustrates how a detailed consideration of a particular issue can inform a wider debate and provide a unique perspective on existing theoretical material. This socio-legal perspective facilitates the utilisation of a range of methodologies which enable the book to challenge the existing conceptualisation of stalking and to present a wider range of potential solutions to this complex social problem.