Courting Disaster
Ashley Reller
Sociology
March 19, 2008
Courting Disaster Paper
Whenever a crime is committed, someone is labeled the victim and someone else the offender. The offender often destroys or hurts something of value through violence and aggressive actions. The victim on the other hand was the helpless, weak, person taken advantage of because the offender could not be stopped. It seems pretty clear. In the book, Courting Disaster, Jennifer Dunn talks about the crime of intimate stalking and how very often the victim role is not an easy one to fit into. The line is not no so clear anymore, and the victim identity is harder to classify. In the book, Dunn talks about the victim identity and how hard it is to keep to the expectations when intimately stalked. Dunn gives many examples of victim experiences with their stalkers and the way that the law enforcement and justice system reacted. The law enforcement and justice system would react based on the severeness of the situation and especially if it fits into what is expected. If the victims in anyway complied to the stalker’s actions, they were hurting themselves. They were no longer believable to the law. When the victims would interact with the stalker, and give in, the law considered their emotions swayed as well as their allegations. Once this happened the case was no longer taken seriously. This seems unreasonable because once the relationships are ended does not mean that the feelings are too. It is hard to ignore the affectionate feelings and actions that the stalkers show them when stalking. This can sway the victim, especially when gifts are given. This makes the stalker look less threatening and often guards can be let down as shown in the survey with college sorority girls. They are playing on the love factor because they know the victim is still emotionally attached to an extent. They have shared intimate times and often children are involved making it even harder to stay away. Cases
Sociology
March 19, 2008
Courting Disaster Paper
Whenever a crime is committed, someone is labeled the victim and someone else the offender. The offender often destroys or hurts something of value through violence and aggressive actions. The victim on the other hand was the helpless, weak, person taken advantage of because the offender could not be stopped. It seems pretty clear. In the book, Courting Disaster, Jennifer Dunn talks about the crime of intimate stalking and how very often the victim role is not an easy one to fit into. The line is not no so clear anymore, and the victim identity is harder to classify. In the book, Dunn talks about the victim identity and how hard it is to keep to the expectations when intimately stalked. Dunn gives many examples of victim experiences with their stalkers and the way that the law enforcement and justice system reacted. The law enforcement and justice system would react based on the severeness of the situation and especially if it fits into what is expected. If the victims in anyway complied to the stalker’s actions, they were hurting themselves. They were no longer believable to the law. When the victims would interact with the stalker, and give in, the law considered their emotions swayed as well as their allegations. Once this happened the case was no longer taken seriously. This seems unreasonable because once the relationships are ended does not mean that the feelings are too. It is hard to ignore the affectionate feelings and actions that the stalkers show them when stalking. This can sway the victim, especially when gifts are given. This makes the stalker look less threatening and often guards can be let down as shown in the survey with college sorority girls. They are playing on the love factor because they know the victim is still emotionally attached to an extent. They have shared intimate times and often children are involved making it even harder to stay away. Cases