Stalking: victimology aspects and victims’protection

Abstract

Stalking is an extremely complex and widespread phenomenon, which potentially can produce severe psychological, physical and social effects. As a result of legislative labelling and defining attempts, in addition to interventions of psychiatry and scientific context, these behaviors are now known to the general population as well as at the institutional level. The research, which concentrated initially on the analysis of the different ways of running a campaign of persecution as well as on the stalker identity, later shifted its attention to the victim of such conduct. Stalking, infact, defines itself through its effects on the victims and their reactions: because of their distress, anxiety and fear, these behaviors, sometimes only harassing or annoying, become crimes or illicit activities. In a protection and prevention perspective, the study of victimological aspects of persecutory acts is fundamental, in terms of early recognition of risk situations and evaluation of main coping strategies. The authors, through a literature review on the topic, aim to highlight the importance of research in this field, which is still limited, in order to identify appropriate interventions to reduce the negative consequences of the phenomenon and to protect the victims.