Identifying, defining, and assessing the risk of stalking in cases of intimate partner violence - Te Puna Haumaru Seminar Series

Partner stalking is often framed as a dangerous problem that is distinct from intimate partner violence (IPV) overall, or from other types of IPV (e.g., physical or psychological violence). Such assumptions imply that stalking requires identification, assessment, and response processes distinct from other harmful behaviours in intimate relationships. However, confusion about stalking persists among researchers and practitioners alike. Thus, we explored stalking definitions and identification, as well as stalking-related risk prediction, within New Zealand IPV practice. First, we examined police-recorded stalking in episode reports across 1,150 IPV cases and found evidence of stalking within one in every seven IPV cases reported to New Zealand Police, despite police rarely using the label ‘stalking’. Second, we interviewed 14 specialist IPV practitioners to understand practice-based stalking definitions. Rather than providing a conceptual definition, practitioners described stalking as a list of behaviours, with considerable heterogeneity in whether—and, if so, how—stalking was distinguished from other types of harm. Third, we explored whether stalking predicted ongoing IPV reported to police in 1,126 cases and found stalking weakly predicted (any) IPV recurrence and did not predict physical IPV recurrence. Together, we discuss the implications for understanding the overlap between IPV and partner stalking, stalking-related practice, and future research.