Being stalked by a partner or ex-partner can be terrifying, distressing and frustrating. Very often it is done following a history of intimate partner violence, often when the person who experiences the violence attempts to separate. Stalking is a way to continue to try to control that person through fear and intimidation.
A bill that will amend the Crimes Act to criminalise stalking is now close to becoming a law. In its current form, it will say that stalking is a crime when there have been two ‘specified acts’ of stalking within a two-year period, if the stalker knows their behaviour is causing, or is likely to cause, fear or distress. This is regardless of who is targeted, whether that person is an intimate partner, ex-partner, co-worker, acquaintance, well-known politician, celebrity or complete stranger.
The bill recognises a wide range of ‘specified acts’ that are commonly part of a pattern of stalking, and is worded broadly enough to capture the range of acts that stalkers use now, or may use in the future, to cause fear and distress:
- Watching, following, loitering near, or obstructing the person being targeted
- Recording or tracking that person
- Contacting or communicating with that person
- Damaging, devaluing, moving, entering, or interfering with taonga or property (including pets) that person has an interest in
- Damaging or undermining that person’s reputation, opportunities or relationships
- Publishing any statement or other material relating to, or pretending to relate to that person, or pretending to come from that person
- Acting in any way that would cause fear or distress to a reasonable person
- Any act above done directly or indirectly to someone in a family relationship with that person if the act is done at least partly because of that relationship
- Any act above done to that person through another person or organization, with or without their knowledge
- Any act above done by or through any means whatsoever, e.g. tracking devices, digital applications, spyware, drones, or use of AI
We are pleased that the bill specifically recognises a number of acts that are often not understood as part of a pattern of stalking. We know that intimate (ex) partners have access to deeply personal information, and may have personal photos, videos, or information they can use to destroy someone’s reputation, e.g. by doxxing. They are also likely to know how to manipulate other people and organisations into acting on their behalf, for example by getting others to find out and report on the location or movements of the person they’re stalking or unwittingly pass along messages with hidden meaning to that person.
Making stalking a crime is long overdue. But once the law is passed, there will still be much work needed to change attitudes and processes, so that police and others take stalking seriously and respond by taking all possible action to protect people being stalked by holding stalkers accountable.