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Partner Stalking
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Copyright © 2006 Springer Publishing Company, Inc.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Springer Publishing
Company, Inc.

Springer Publishing Company, Inc.

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New York, NY 10036

Acquisitions Editor: Sheri W. Sussman

Production Editor: Gail F. Farrar
Cover design: Mimi Flow
Composition: Publishers’ Design and Production Services, Inc.

06 07 08 09 10 / 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Partner stalking : how women respond, cope, and survive / TK Logan . . . [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8261-3756-3
1. Stalking victims. 2. Abused women 3. Wife abuse 4. Women—Crimes Against
5. Stalking I. Logan, TK.

HV6594.P36 2006
362.82'92—dc22

2006044280

Printed in the United States of America by Bang Printing.

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Contents

List of Tables and Figures vii

About the Authors ix

Acknowledgments xi

Foreword xiii

Preface xvii

1 What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know

About Partner Stalking? 1

2 Women’s Perceptions of Partner Stalking 13

3 Partner Stalking and Previous Victimization 59

4 The Health and Mental Health Costs of Partner Stalking 107

5 Partner Stalking and Co-Occurring Problems 149

6 Partner Stalking and Coping Responses 183

7 Partner Stalking and the Justice System Response 235

8 Conclusion and Implications: Are There Answers for

Stalking Victims? 285

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vi PARTNER STALKING

Appendix: Study Methods and Ethical Considerations 305

Notes 313

References 315

Index 333
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List of Tables and Figures

Table 1.1 Sample of Studies with Stalking Perpetrator Categories 6

Table 1.2 Common Coping Tactics of Stalking Victims 9
Table 2.1 Prevalence of Types of Stalking Tactics 19
Table 2.2 Ratings of Fear Associated with Stalking Tactics 21
Table 3.1 Victimization Experiences in Childhood 64
Table 3.2 Adverse Childhood Experiences 68
Table 3.3 Victimization Experiences in Adolescence
and Adulthood 69
Table 3.4 Psychological and Physical Abuse by the
Stalking Partner During the Relationship 76
Table 3.5 Sexual Abuse by the Stalking Partner
During the Relationship 84
Table 4.1 Physical Health Problems 113
Table 4.2 Mental Health Diagnosis 124
Table 4.3 Generalized Anxiety, PTSD, and Depression 127
Table 4.4 The Effect of Stalking 134
Table 5.1 Stressors 154
Figure 6.1 Stalking, coping, and coping outcome 186
Table 6.1 Informal and Formal Resource Utilization for
Partner Violence and Stalking 200
Table 6.2 Barriers to Seeking Health/Mental Health 221
Figure 7.1 Pathways into the Justice System 240

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viii PARTNER STALKING

Table 7.1 Barriers to the Justice System 267

Table 8.1 What Can I Do? 297
Table A.1 County Description of Sample Selection 308
Table A.2 Demographic Characteristics 310
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About the Authors

TK Logan, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science

at the University of Kentucky with appointments in the Center on Drug
and Alcohol Research, Psychology, Psychiatry, and Social Work. Dr.
Logan has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA),
the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and
the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and has completed a variety of
studies on intimate partner violence victimization as well as partner stalk-
ing and sexual assault victimization. All of the studies conducted by Dr.
Logan have examined a wide range of contributing factors and outcomes
such as health and substance use, barriers to services, and help-seeking
among rural and urban women with victimization experiences. Dr. Logan
teaches in the college of medicine as well as courses that target students
across a variety of disciplines. She has published extensively on partner
violence, sexual assault, substance abuse, and drug courts, and has co-
authored several books focused on victimization, mental health, and sub-
stance abuse among women.
Jennifer Cole, MSW, is a doctoral student in Social Work at the
University of Kentucky. She is also a research coordinator for a National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) study, which ex-
amines alcohol, violence, mental health, health status, and service uti-
lization among rural and urban women with protective orders against
male partners. She has also worked as project coordinator on a National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study that examined the nature, extent,
and co-occurrence of HIV risk behavior, violence, and crack use. Her pri-
mary interests are in the areas of intimate partner violence, sexual vio-
lence, and mental health issues of women.
Lisa Shannon, MSW, is a doctoral student in Social Work at the Uni-
versity of Kentucky. She is a Research Analyst at the Center on Drug
and Alcohol Research. Ms. Shannon works on a grant from the National

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x PARTNER STALKING

Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) studying alcohol,

violence, mental health and health status, and service utilization among
rural and urban women with protective orders. Ms. Shannon has previ-
ously worked on a statewide Drug Court evaluation project. Her interests
are in the areas of substance abuse, victimization, and criminal offenders.
Robert Walker, MSW, LCSW, is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at
the University of Kentucky Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, with
conjoint appointments in Social Work and Behavioral Science. He re-
ceived his M.S.W. degree from the University of Kentucky and was the
Center Director of a community mental health center for 20 years. He has
over 25 years of experience as a clinician and clinical supervisor, and
has developed clinical services for partner violence victims and offenders.
He has been a co-investigator on partner violence studies in rural and
urban areas and has been an evaluator of substance-abuse treatment
programs in rural and inner-city programs. He has taught psychopathol-
ogy, social work interventions with family problems, and research design
and implementation in the graduate program in the College of Social
Work at the University of Kentucky for 16 years. He has published arti-
cles on substance abuse, brain injury, domestic violence, ethics, and per-
sonality disorders.
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Acknowledgments

We first acknowledge and thank each woman who contributed her time
for this study. Without the 62 women who were courageous enough to
tell their stories we would not have had the opportunity to learn about
the day-to-day experiences of women being stalked by violent partners.
We also thank the women who served as advisors during the development
of this study. Each helped by identifying the critical cultural and commu-
nity factors that brought the study closer to the social realities of partner
stalking in contemporary society.
Further, we extend much gratitude to both Cara Stewart and Candice
Burnette, who conducted the majority of the lengthy interviews and helped
in many other ways throughout this project. We also thank Lindsey Love
for her time in diligently transcribing the interviews, as well as Jennifer
Allen and Heidi Ewen for their careful data entry. We acknowledge the
contributions of Lucy Evans, Kelli Frakes, and Karen Medley for their
help with the advisory group meetings at the beginning of the project. Of
course, there were many community members who supported this study
in numerous ways; your support for this project is much appreciated.
Clearly, a study of this nature requires resources; the University of
Kentucky Department of Behavioral Science not only provided financial
resources but also a belief in the importance of studying violence against
women. We are grateful for their support.
Finally, we acknowledge the researchers, clinicians, and other re-
search participants who have provided the framework and foundation
upon which this study was built. As John A. Morrison said, “Knowledge
comes by taking things apart: analysis. But wisdom comes by putting
things together” (Forbes Magazine, 1997, p. 130). Without this prior
work, we would not have been able to conceptualize and implement this
study for an in-depth look at what it is like to be stalked by a partner. We
hope the readers find this study as enlightening as we did.

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Foreword

This volume joins a short list of must-reads about the interconnection of

partner violence and stalking. Sixty-two women, half from urban and half
from rural areas, gave detailed interviews about the history of their rela-
tionships and the physical, mental, economic, and social impact of stalking
on their lives. Of special importance is the depth of information about how
the women coped. Their experiences with friends and family and formal
social systems, such as mental health, victims’ assistance, and the criminal
justice system, are developed so that one can appreciate both individual pat-
terns and general conclusions. The authors have learned too much about
the complexity of abuse-stalking relationships to favor any one-size-fits-
all recommendations about providing better services for victims. But they
do come forward with important suggestions for improving the plight of
abuse-stalking victims.
The study sample is not a probability sample, but it is surely one that
represents a great many of the experiences of women in violent relation-
ships characterized by stalking. Logan and her colleagues are to be con-
gratulated for making a significant contribution to our understanding
of several aspects of being in a violent relationship that is also marked by
stalking during and after the relationship. In reading these women’s de-
scriptions, I am reminded of Johnson and Ferraro’s (2000) description of
“Intimate Terrorism.” The level of physical and psychological abuse, es-
pecially that marked by detailed surveillance, fills out the picture of what it
is like to have lived with an intimate terrorist—and, in many cases, to try
to escape from that relationship. Of the sample, 94% had experienced se-
vere physical violence. Two thirds of the women saw control as the primary
motivation for the partner’s stalking. In 66% of these cases, the women
suffered from chronic health problems apparently due to the combination
of violence and continued intrusive behaviors. Three of the more telling

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xiv PARTNER STALKING

indications of the level of surveillance these women suffered are (1) cell-
phone calling so persistent that one either had to report in regularly or have
one’s storage filled up and still have to face the third degree about why
she had not answered his phone calls; (2) several of the women reported
that it was difficult even to get the privacy of going to the bathroom alone,
and (3) the extensive use of friends and relatives to check up on the victim.
Chilling threats on the person of the victim or her children were not un-
common. The rich qualitative data makes the reader’s experience of being
in such relationships come alive—almost too painfully.
One important feature of the qualitative methods is that we can see
women who are resilient and who have come through a version of hell by
coping effectively with these horrible experiences. Almost half of the
women in the sample reported one or more way in which they had gained
strengths or refused to accept blame for their partners’ stalking and vio-
lence. We also see victims whose physical and mental health has been dam-
aged by the combination of abuse and violation of personal security that
is central to stalking. Because of pattern of controlling behaviors typical of
the stalking partners, the women were deprived of normal autonomy and
ability to exercise personal control over their own lives. In a very real sense,
they were treated as nonpersons—not being allowed to make their own
choices. One woman expressed this graphically: “I feel like a caged animal.
I can’t be my own person. I am not independent anymore.” This tended to
have a predictable negative effect on the women’s sense of self-worth and
self-esteem. Almost a quarter of the sample came to see the violence and
stalking as at least in part their fault.
Another important contribution is the detailed examination of when
and what leads the women to see their partner’s behaviors as “stalking.”
There is no single pattern, but one typical profile is that of a range of ro-
mantic gestures and attention turning into intrusive, controlling behaviors.
The most common tip-offs for the women were (a) attentive concern be-
coming persistent surveillance, (b) a pattern of jealous demanding of ex-
planations for any contact with the opposite sex—even mutual friends, and
(c) threats. For a small number of women, it took the helpful attributions
from family or friends that allowed them to see how inappropriate the
partner was being. A clear implication is that women are not going to re-
port the partner to the authorities if they do not even see his behavior as
being an illegal activity.
One important consideration not dwelt on in the research literature is
the co-occurrence of abuse and stalking with other significant life stressors.
Half or more of the women had multiple other significant stressors to deal
with. The descriptive information about the range of these stressors should
be especially useful to those in clinical or case management roles with re-
spect to victims. The complexity of their life circumstances requires careful
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Foreword xv

assessment and a willingness to tailor plans to the reality constraints that

the women are dealing with. Sadly, the majority of this sample did not re-
port supportive, practically helpful responses from their mental health con-
tacts. Only half had talked to a counselor, and, of those, only 36% reported
supportive and helpful actions. The situation was no better for medical pro-
fessionals. Even though 94% had seen a doctor within the last year, only
21% talked with the doctor about abuse-stalking, and few received con-
structive, realistic advice.
From the perspective of these victims, the response of the police and
courts was only somewhat better than that of health practitioners. Almost
half of the women had called the police and many were protected and
supported by the police. But the most common response was frustration
with the system—especially among the rural women. In some cases the re-
ality of their experiences were minimized or completely disregarded. In
others, the police were ineffective or did not follow up violations of pro-
tective orders. Sentencing was lenient. Far too many of these women, who
had been coping with intimate terrorism, got the kind of supportive, well-
informed help that they needed.
What can be done to improve the response to women’s victimization?
Training for both mental health and criminal justice officials in what are
the realities of abuse and stalking. The life stories in this volume provide
one of the essential components of such training. One implication of such
training would be that first responders would understand the importance
of a considerate, supportive listening to the victim’s story and learn not to
assume that she is trying to manipulate the system. Second, they would
focus their initial help on devising an individualized safety plan. Treating
the danger that she is experiencing as real rather than focusing on symp-
toms that need cognitive behavior modification is essential. The life nar-
ratives make it clear that safety plans will require tailoring to the different
circumstances that each victim faces. Finally, and most hoped for, is the
suggestion of the authors for the development of community-response
teams consisting not just of police and the court system, but also including
other service providers, so that comprehensive and collaborative plans can
be worked out in each case. Such collaborative teams are already being
explored on several college campuses to deal with sexual assaults. The
courageous stories of these 62 women make it absolutely clear that we, as
citizens, owe them a better community response to the realities of abuse
and stalking. May this volume become a trigger for the development of
such responses.

Keith E. Davis, PhD

Columbia, SC
January 2006
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Preface

Carol is in her late 50s with three grown children. She is college ed-
ucated and has a comfortable income. Carol lives in her own home
in a nice neighborhood and is attending college classes. She is cur-
rently married to a man about 10 years older, named Tom. Both
Carol and Tom were previously married to spouses who died from
cancer. They met about 6 years ago through a mutual acquaintance
and seemed to have a lot in common. In fact, when Carol first met
Tom she was convinced that “God sent him to me, he was such a
gentleman.”
As the relationship progressed, Carol said she noticed him
watching and monitoring her time, but dismissed it as “he was bored
and just checking on me.” However, the stalking persisted as their
relationship progressed and eventually Carol was forced to leave a
good job. Carol summarized the experience, “They were glad to get
[rid of me] and I don’t think I could ever be rehired back in the clinic
no matter what position I wanted because I think they think I’m a
danger as long as I’m married to him. I’m a threat to them. They
couldn’t say anything about my work, what all I contributed or any-
thing they needed—they couldn’t say anything. But with him I think
he—I think I could never [be rehired]. And I already tried for another
position and was very, very qualified and when I called back to check
on my application—my application had disappeared. I knew then
something [was wrong].”
For Carol, it’s not just the stalking that scares her. Tom became
physically violent about seven months into the relationship. Tom’s
violence has become progressively worse over the course of the rela-
tionship. Carol said that she is most fearful of what Tom might be
capable of when he has alcohol “blackouts” because he becomes so
violent she believes he is capable of killing her. Carol feels as though
she is always “watching over her shoulder” and that she is socially

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