This work is a wide-ranging and sensitive examination of the lived experience of intimate stalking victimization. It explores how it feels and what it means to be stalked by a former intimate and how this situation creates dilemmas for victims and their advocates. What is it like to try to become a "victim" in the eyes of the law and then to remain one, when almost anything a woman does to manage the violent emotions of an ex-husband or ex-boyfriend can backfire and discredit her claims? The author draws upon a broad array of rich data, including a survey of college women, courtroom testimony, prosecutors' case files, interviews with victims and observations in a prosecutor's office and a stalking survivor's support group to illustrate the difficulties women face as they work to cope with danger - and to negotiate the hazardous terrain of legal systems - simultaneously. For some victims, Dunn shows, prosecution processes are more traumatic than the events that brought them to seek legal help and her analysis of the historical, cultural and gendered frameworks in which stalking victimization and prosecution takes place accounts for the additional trauma. Definitions of situations and identities are contested rather than given in these arenas where lives and self-concepts rest in the balance. The ways in which we socially construct and confer meaning upon intimate violence and its victims profoundly shape what happens to ordinary women facing extraordinary circumstances. "Courting Disaster" illuminates what we can learn from their experience, whether we are working in these arenas or theorizing about how they do, and sometimes do not, work.

Studies in Applied Interpersonal Communication offers solutions for communication problems that erupt in our daily lives. By focusing on socially meaningful applied research in communication, this book offers a new direction for interpersonal communication studies. Featuring original studies that are practical and relevant, chapters provide readers with a balanced combination of rigorous research with pragmatic application. This book will generate enthusiasm among students and scholars and inspire future research that moves beyond the theoretical and toward the practical.

This book explores the nature and impact of stalking and criminal justice system responses to this type of abuse based on the experiences and lived realities of victims. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 26 self-defined victims of stalking in England and Wales, it explores the psychological and social effects of this hidden and misunderstood form of interpersonal violence. Korkodeilou's work seeks to improve understanding regarding this type of abuse, contribute to feminist criminology and gender-based violence literature, and expand scholarly knowledge with her research's theoretical, methodological and practical implications. Victims of Stalking will appeal to academics in the fields of victimology, victimisation, gender-based and interpersonal violence, criminal justice system responses to victims and to criminal justice system professionals (e.g. police officers, probation officers, and lawyers).

Awards and Praise for the first edition: Recipient of the 2006 International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) Book Award "This text, as it presently stands, is THE go-to text for stalking researchers. That is my opinion and the opinion of multiple fellow scholars I know in the field. It rarely sits on my shelf, but rather is a constant reference on my desk. I can always count on these authors to have done an extensive review of literature. I thought I was thorough, but they are always providing me with new references." --Dr. H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Professor of Psychology, Mississippi State University "Cupach and Spitzberg provide the reader with a multidisciplinary framework for understanding the nature and impact of unwanted relationship pursuits. This book is an excellent resource for students and professionals alike who seek to gain knowledge about unwanted relational pursuits and stalking." —Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy The Dark Side of Relationship Pursuit provides historical and definitional frames for studying unwanted relationship pursuit, and considers the role of the media, law, and social science research in shaping today’s conceptualizations of stalking. The volume integrates research from diverse contributing fields and disciplines, providing a thorough summary and assessment of current knowledge on stalking and obsessive pursuit. Building on the foundation of the award-winning first edition, this revision considers assessment issues, offers an expanded analysis of the meta-analysis data set, and includes coverage of intercultural and international factors. As an increasing number of scholarly disciplines and professional fields study stalking and other forms of obsessive relationship pursuit, this book is a must-have resource for examining interpersonal conflict, social and personal relationships, domestic violence, unrequited love, divorce and relational dissolution, and harassment. It also has much to offer researchers, counselors, and professionals in psychology, counseling, criminal justice, sociology, psychiatry, forensic evaluation, threat assessment, and law enforcement.

It is estimated that a quarter of all women will be stalked in their lifetime. Stalkers put their victims in danger of losing their jobs, their support system, even their lives; and subject them to dangerously high levels of fear and stress. This book examines the multiple aspects of partner stalking from the victim's perspective. Female survivors share their personal stories of partner stalking, and the authors provide an extensive look at the latest stalking research providing readers with the new most relevant implications for practice and future research.

This book compiles research on female crime and delinquency in Portugal in order to critically and reflectively explore interdisciplinary views on the link between gender, crime and delinquency. Contributions are organized into two main parts, with Part I dedicated to the relationship between women and crime, and Part II focused on female juvenile delinquency. Through the exploration of girls’ and women’s relationships with delinquency and crime, as well as with the justice system, this original and compelling collection highlights the heterogeneity of girls’ and women's experiences, whilst also underlining the convergences and divergences between them. Ultimately, Gomes and Duarte argue that understanding how women and girls explain their offending behaviours and how they relate to the criminal justice system is of the utmost importance for reforming social and legal policies. As such, this book will be of value not only for students, researchers and professionals of the social, behavioural and criminal sciences, but also for policy-makers seeking to provide greater efficiency in preventing crime and delinquency.

In Indigenous America, human rights and justice take on added significance. The special legal status of Native Americans and the highly complex jurisdictional issues resulting from colonial ideologies have become deeply embedded into federal law and policy. Nevertheless, Indigenous people in the United States are often invisible in discussions of criminal and social justice. Crime and Social Justice in Indian Country calls to attention the need for culturally appropriate research protocols and critical discussions of social and criminal justice in Indian Country. The contributors come from the growing wave of Native American as well as non-Indigenous scholars who employ these methods. They reflect on issues in three key areas: crime, social justice, and community responses to crime and justice issues. Topics include stalking, involuntary sterilization of Indigenous women, border-town violence, Indian gaming, child welfare, and juvenile justice. These issues are all rooted in colonization; however, the contributors demonstrate how Indigenous communities are finding their own solutions for social justice, sovereignty, and self-determination. Thanks to its focus on community responses that exemplify Indigenous resilience, persistence, and innovation, this volume will be valuable to those on the ground working with Indigenous communities in public and legal arenas, as well as scholars and students. Crime and Social Justice in Indian Country shows the way forward for meaningful inclusions of Indigenous peoples in their own justice initiatives. Contributors Alisse Ali-Joseph William G. Archambeault Cheryl Redhorse Bennett Danielle V. Hiraldo Lomayumptewa K. Ishii Karen Jarratt-Snider Eileen Luna-Firebaugh Anne Luna-Gordinier Marianne O. Nielsen Linda M. Robyn