The Criminalization of Stalking:
An Exercise in Media Manipulation and Political Opportunism
Rosemary Cairns Way*
Canada’s new criminal harassment law criminalizes
behaviour more commonly known as “stalking”. The stalk-
ing law was the centrepiece of Bill C-126, a government ini-
tiative responding to increased public concern about vio-
lence against women and children. The author critically
analyzes the stalking initiative as three phases of a “moral
panic”. She argues that the combined impetus of media
manipulation and political opportunism led to the swift
enactment of Bill C-126 and resulted in an inadequate
response to the complex issue of violence against women.
The first phase of this “moral panic” was characterized
by the media’s role in defining and sensationalizing the
threatening behaviour. The typical media portrayal of stalk-
ing incidents played upon a cultural pornographic imagina-
tion. The images conveyed encouraged public perception of
the stalker as an extreme example of male aggressiveness,
while at the same time emphasizing female vulnerability. As
a result, stalking quickly became the subject of public out-
rage over the ineffectiveness of existing criminal law. The
media failed to address, and the public never considered, the
systemic nature of male power relations as an important
contributing factor to the problem of violence against
women.
The author depicts the second phase of the stalking ini-
tiative as the inevitable politicization of the issue. She char-
acterizes the government bid to pass Bill C-126 as a hurried
and superficial process, spanning a mere seven months from
the Bill’s conception to the enacting legislation. Women’s
voices were heard only during a one-day “Information
Exchange” session, during which representatives of
women’s groups repeatedly called for government dialogue
concerning the systemic nature of violence against women.
Representatives advocated a comprehensive front-line
approach to the problem of violence against women rather
than endorsing the simple imposition of legal solutions. The
author submits that the government’s desire to react to the
“urgent” need for a stalking law before the end of its man-
date, encouraged politicians to respond primarily to height-
ened media attention and effectively ignore the arguments
voiced by women’s groups in response to the proposed leg-
islation.
Finally, the author critically examines the third phase of
the government initiative, Le. the legislative process leading
to the enactment of the stalking law, and raises substantive
concerns about the offence itself. She describes a process
characterized by insufficient consultation with those most
experienced with the issue of violence against women. As a
result, the author submits that the new offence will make
little material difference in women’s lives. In particular, the
absence of a preamble to contextualize the offence, the
requirement of “reasonable fear” and the inclusion of a
complex intent element will compromise the effectiveness
of the provision as a solution to the problem of stalking.
In conclusion, the stalking initiative is unfavourably
compared to the model of inclusive polities demonstrated in
the process behind Bill C-49, the recently enacted sexual
assault legislation. The three phases of the stalking initiative
expose a consistent failure to appreciate and acknowledge
the systemic nature of violence against women and repre-
sent a step back for government policies of inclusive,
constituency-driven reform.
Los nouvelles dispositions canadiennes sur le harchle-
ment criminel visent A criminaliser un comportement com-
mundment d6sign6 par -stalking-i. Elles sont au coeur du
projet de loi C-126 qui rdpond ax inquidtudes croissantes
du public concernant la violence faite aux fenssnes et aux
enfants. L’auteure analyse de fagon critique cette initiative
gouvernementale en ]a matihre, la qualifiant de ,ipanique
moraleo, en trois phases. Elle soutient que la manipulation
mddiatique et l’opportunisme politique sont b l’origine de
l’adoption rapide du projet de loi C-126, ce qui explique son
incapacitd A faire face A ]a complexitd de la violence faite
aux femmes.
La premihre phase de cette opanique morales a 6
caractdrisde par le sensationalisme des mdias quant h la
ddfinition du harchiement criminel. Le portrait-type que les
m dias nous offrent de ce type de comportemont insiste sur
l’imaginaire pornographique. Ces images reprdsentent le
-harceleurm comme dtant l’archdtype de l’agressivitd minele,
tout en insistant sur la vulndrabilitd fdminine. Cela explique
Ia vive rdaction du public par rapport it l’inefficacit6 du droit
criminel en matihre de harchlement criminel. L’auteure note
toutefois que ni les m6dias nile public n’ont pris en compte
le caractre systdmique des relations de pouvoir entre les
hommes et les femmes et leur influence sur la violence faite
aux femmes.
La politisation du problhme constitue Ia seconde phase
de l’initiative gouvernementale. Selon l’auteure, ‘adoption
du projet de oi C-126 est le fruit d’une procdure rapide et
superficielle, n’ayant requis que sept mois, de sa conception
jusqu’A son adoption. Los voix des femmes n’ont 6td enten-
dues qu’une seule joumde, lors d’une session d’dchange
d’informations ott les reprisentantes des groupes de femmes
ont demand6 au gouvernement d’entamer un dialogue por-
tant sur la nature systdmique de la violence faite aux
femmes. Los reprdsentantes favorisaient une approche glo-
bale par rapport a ]a violence faite aux femmes, plutdt que
la seule adoption d’une solution Idgale. L’auteure soutient
que Ia ddcision du gouvemement d’intervenir rapidement
tout juste avant la fin de son mandat, afin de rdagir au besoin
<
servi b dpouser les revendications des mrdias qu’t. rdpondre
ax demandes des groupes de femmes. Enfin, l’auteure exa-
mine Ia troisilme phase de l’initiative gouvernementale,
c’est-s-dire le processus lgislatif ayant men6 As l’adoption
de la loi sur le harchiement criminel. Ce processus a 6t6
marqud par une consultation insuffisante auprbs des per-
sonnes los plus affectdes par la violence faite aux femmes.
Cola explique pourquoi Ia nouvelle infraction apportera peu
de changement A la vie des femmes. L’auteure aborde
ensuito l’infraction elle-mlme. Solon elle, l’absence d’un
prdambule h l’infraction, la ndcessitd d’une
