Poor, Urban Women Victims of Stalking: Has Research and Policy Discounted their Experience?

The purpose of this paper is to expose the experience of some poor, urban battered women as related to stalking. This paper contends the current stalking literature and policy has discounted the experiences of many poor, urban battered women. This paper reviews the current stalking literature, general victimization data and theoretical criticisms of research and polices which discount the experience of marginalized battered women. The author a former victim's advocate in Jersey City, New Jersey also discusses her observations. Victims were monitored for the purpose of instilling fear and intimidation; however their experience often fell outside of the 'mainstream' conceptualization of stalking. This paper contends that because of limited economic resources and geographic constraints, many poor, urban battered women rarely left their neighborhoods, consequently allowing for easier monitoring. In addition, this paper will discuss the author's observation that this group of women was frequently monitored by their community, including the batterer's friends, family, street associates, etc. It should be clear the author is not advocating for the recognition of this group, for the sole purpose of punishing their batterers. Rather the hope of this paper is to expose the reader to the disconnection created when middle-class concepts, including language and the codification of specific behaviors, are applied to groups whose experiences are not considered by policy makers and outsiders. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]