Social perceptions of stalking in Spain: The behaviour’s seriousness and legal response
| Author | Alejandra Pujols,Carolina Villacampa |
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370819837605 |
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819837605
European Journal of Criminology
2021, Vol. 18(2) 147 –169
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370819837605
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Social perceptions of
stalking in Spain: The
behaviour’s seriousness
and legal response
Carolina Villacampa
and Alejandra Pujols
University of Lleida, Spain
Abstract
The recent process of criminalization of stalking in various European countries has proved to
be complex, due to the diffuse nature of the phenomenon. One tool for helping to identify the
most appropriate legal response to this issue is social perception studies. This article presents
the findings of one such study conducted with a sample of 1010 university students, one of the
population segments most victimized by stalking, based on two case scenarios. The aim was to
determine, first, this population segment’s perceptions of the incidence and seriousness of the
stalking phenomenon and, second, their attitude regarding the proportionate legal response in
cases of stalking, depending on both certain personal characteristics of the sample members and
other variables related to the case scenario itself. The results show that the sample population’s
attitude with regard to the appropriate legal response in such cases is relatively nonpunitive.
They also reveal distortions in the sample population’s view of the incidence and seriousness
of these behaviours: in contrast to the findings of stalking victimization studies, the respondents
considered cases of stalking by strangers to be more serious.
Keywords
Punitiveness, social perceptions, stalking, stalking seriousness
Introduction
West European countries have only recently begun to legislate on stalking. Whereas
countries such as Germany and Italy criminalized stalking at the end of the first decade
of the 21st century, it was not until the adoption of the Council of Europe Convention on
preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul
Corresponding author:
Carolina Villacampa, Department of Public Law, University of Lleida, c/ Jaume II, 73, Lleida, 25001, Spain.
Email: cvillacampa@dpub.udl.cat
837605EUC0010.1177/1477370819837605European Journal of CriminologyVillacampa and Pujols
research-article2019
Article
148 European Journal of Criminology 18(2)
Convention) in 2011 that several other European countries followed suit. This was the
case for Sweden (2011), the United Kingdom (2012), and Spain and Portugal (2015).
Despite the trend detected in recent years towards criminalizing this phenomenon, a
legislative formula has yet to be found that provides a fully satisfactory response to it.
The complex nature of stalking has made it difficult to legislate, leading to the emer-
gence of various legislative models aimed at offering a suitable legal response (Van der
Aa, 2017). One potential tool for tackling these challenges is victimization studies, which
can provide information on the incidence and dynamics of stalking processes. Such
information enables greater understanding of the phenomenon, which, in turn, can make
the legislation process more rational. They have been used in the USA (Tjaden and
Thoennes, 1998), the UK (Budd and Mattinson, 2000), and even at the European level
through the study ‘Violence against Women: An EU-wide survey’ (FRA, 2014), prepared
by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). These studies show how the popula-
tion most victimized by this phenomenon are women under the age of 30 (Baum et al.,
2009; FRA, 2014; Tjaden and Thoennes, 1998). As a result of this higher incidence of
stalking of young people, numerous studies have analysed both the prevalence and the
dynamics of these behaviours in samples made up solely of university students, resulting
in rates of victimization notably higher than those perceived in the general population.
Specifically, in research with samples of university students, these percentages range
between 9.2 percent and 35.2 percent for women and 2.0 percent and 35.0 percent for
men (Bjerregaard, 2000; Feltes et al., 2012; National Union of Students, 2011).
In addition to studies on stalking victimization, another quantitative research tool that
can heighten understanding of the incidence of the phenomenon, social perspectives on
how to approach it and, therefore, the most appropriate way to deal with it is perception
studies of this reality based on case scenarios. Such studies make it possible not only to
compare how closely the social perception of the phenomenon mirrors the findings of
studies that analyse it directly, but also to measure the degree of social punitiveness
against such behaviours. This is especially well suited to the case at hand, as the Istanbul
Convention itself allows states to respond to stalking with non-criminal legislative
measures.
However, such perception analyses are not yet as widespread as studies on victimiza-
tion by such behaviours. Although the issue of social punitiveness and social perceptions
of the criminal justice system is one of the major issues in criminology today – the works
of Roberts and Hough or Maruna and King on punitive populism and social perceptions
of crime are well known (King and Maruna, 2009; Maruna and King, 2009; Roberts and
Hough, 2002; Roberts, 2008) – research on social perceptions of gender-based violence
are not so common. Such analyses of manifestations of this form of violence as specific
as the one examined here are even rarer.
With regard to social attitudes towards gender-based violence, beyond the issues
related to the social perception of such cases included in the European survey developed
by the FRA (FRA, 2014) or in the Eurobarometers (European Commission Directorate-
General, 1999; TNS Opinion & Social, 2010), there is little available information. There
is even less information on social perceptions of stalking. Although relatively plentiful in
English-speaking countries (Cass and Mallicoat, 2015; Duff and Scott, 2013; Gavin and
Scott, 2016; Scott et al., 2010; Scott et al., 2014; Scott et al., 2018; Uhl et al., 2017), the
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