Violence and the prior victim–stalker relationship

INTRODUCTION: Previous research has suggested that stalkers who are ex-partners are more likely to be violent towards their victims than acquaintance or stranger stalkers. A survey was conducted in Britain of 95 individuals who had contacted the Suzy Lamplugh Trust because they were being stalked. METHOD: Eighty-seven of the victims were female and seven were male. They were put into three categories: ex-intimates, former acquaintances and strangers. RESULTS: Ex-intimates were the most aggressive of the three groups. Ex-partners were overall the most intrusive in their behaviour and were also the most likely to threaten and assault third parties as well as their principal victim. Stranger stalkers, however, were significantly more likely than ex-partners to be convicted of stalking-related offences. CONCLUSION: The experiences of our sample would suggest that being stalked carries a high violence risk. Across relational subtypes, over 40% of respondents had experienced physical assault, including attempted murder, sexual assault, or a combination of these acts.