Vulnerability, Victims and Free Movement: The Case of Cyberstalking
| Author | Carsten Maple,Richard Lang |
| Date | 01 June 2012 |
| Published date | 01 June 2012 |
| DOI | 10.1177/203228441200300210 |
| Subject Matter | Update |
208 Intersentia
VULNERABILITY, VICTIMS
AND FREE MOVEMENT:
THE CASE OF CYBERSTALKING
C M and R L*
1. INTRODUCTION
Any crime can have enormous emotional and physical consequences for the vic tim.
However, two potential attributes of a crime which c an signi cantly worsen the ordeal
su ered by the victim are, rstly, that it is committed behind closed doors, especially
the doors of one’s home, and secondly, that it is committed anonymously.1
Cyberstalk ing, by which high-tech methods are used to distress, frig hten and
intimidate the v ictim, is almost unique in that it ca n possess both of these attributes,
sometimes even both at once. Despite t his, the Europea n Commission, in a recent
proposal for a directive, has not seen t to include it on a list of crimes the vic tims of
which are “particu larly vulnerable”. In this article, t he authors consider the proposal
in detail, before looking at cyberstalking itself, and demonstrating why, in their
opinion, the new directive should be a mended to contain a speci c reference to this
crime. Going forward, they call for bespoke EU leg islation to protect victims of
cybersta lking throughout Europ e.
2. THE PROPOSED DIRECTIVE
2.1. THE COMMISSION’S PROPOSAL
On 18May 2011, the Commission adopted its proposal for a direct ive “establishing
minimum sta ndards on the rights, support and protection of victims of
* Professor Carsten M aple is Pro Vice Chancel lor (Research a nd Enterprise) and Profe ssor of
Applicable Computing at t he University of Bed fordshire; he is a lso co-direc tor of e National
Centre for Cyberst alking Re search. Richa rd Lang BA (Hons), LL.M, Ph.D is a S enior Lecturer at t he
School of Law, e Universit y of Bedfordshire.
1 In the UK, committi ng a crime in an i solated place and conc ealing of ident ity both featu re as
aggravati ng factors in the M agistrates ’ Court Sentenci ng Guidelines: < http://sentencingcouncil .
judiciary.gov.uk/doc s/MCSG_(web)_-_complete_version_7.pdf> acc essed 15June 2012.
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