1. Aggressive/intrusive behaviours, harassment and stalking of members of the United Kingdom parliament: a prevalence study and cross-national comparison.
- Author
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James, David V., Farnham, Frank R., Sukhwal, Seema, Jones, Katherine, Carlisle, Josephine, and Henley, Sara
- Subjects
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CRIMES against politicians , *LEGISLATORS , *AGGRESSION (Psychology) , *STALKING , *HARASSMENT , *POLITICIANS - Abstract
Politicians suffer intrusive and aggressive behaviours from members of the public, often lone actors fixated on personal grievances. Few explorations of intrusive behaviours towards politicians have been published; their results are not directly comparable. We surveyed intrusive/aggressive behaviours towards UK members of parliament (MPs); our survey instrument was then administered to MPs at three other parliaments (Queensland, New Zealand, and Norway), providing a cross-national, four-site comparison. 239 MPs completed the UK survey. This 38% response rate produced prevalence rates remarkably similar to the other sites, New Zealand having an 84% response rate. 81% of UK MPs had experienced one or more of the 12 behaviours specified, the mean being five. 18% had been subject to attack/attempted attack, 42% to threats to harm and 22% to property damage. In 53% of respondents, experiences met definitions of stalking or harassment. This has implications for the provision of risk assessment and management. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2016
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