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No / In the past two decades, the Internet has been an integral part of our daily lives. The dependency on the Internet and having unlimited access to modern communication systems has brought numerous benefits for users worldwide. However, as a double-edged sword, such systems has also generated a high degree of risk of victimisation from a myriad of cybercrimes, including cyberstalking. Evidence has indicated that cyberstalking has led to more heinous crimes such as cyber fraud and cyber defamation through data mining and social engineering. Moreover, severe repercussion occurs when the crime transcends into the real world which results in rape and even murder. Given the severe impacts of cyberstalking and the nature of such crime in other Western countries, the perception of the law's adequacy remains vague in the current Malaysian legal landscape. Hence, this paper aims at examining the perception of the criminalisation of cyberstalking in Malaysia, the various motives of cyberstalkers in the commission of such crime and the protection afforded to victims of cyberstalking. The paper will also discuss the legal response to cyberstalking in the United Kingdom and European Union focusing on how these countries govern such crime within their jurisdiction. This paper adopts a qualitative methodology, of which the primary data is generated from semi-structured interviews with the relevant stakeholders and victims. The secondary data are the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Penal Code, books, academic journals, online databases, and other library-based sources. The sampling method in this research is purposive sampling and the qualitative data analysis was conducted through thematic and content analysis, in which the observations and the interview transcripts from the semi-structured interviews were examined. The primary data were triangulated with the semi-structured interview data obtained from an officer from the Ministry of Communication and Multimedia and another officer from the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. The findings revealed contradictory views on the effective response of the criminal justice system towards cyberstalking, which explains the under-reporting of such crime. Reports has also highlighted that more than 70 per cent of stalking victims are reluctant to lodge a police report due to the belief that enforcement officers would be unhelpful. The findings highlighted that the under-reporting by victim and under-recording by police combined with frequent unresponsiveness of prosecutors and judges leads to significant barriers for effective criminal justice responses to stalking offences. Also, the motivations of cyberstalkers were evident, such as jealousy and obsession. Furthermore, the stalkers may share traits such as envy, a pathological obsession, including professional or sexual fixation, unemployment or failure with their job or life, and a cruel intention to intimidate or cause others to feel inferior Significantly, the findings illustrate that the current Malaysian legal framework on cyberstalking is deficient in protecting cyberstalking victims, which calls for an urgent need for a review in the Malaysian laws.

The goal of this thesis is to map children users' theoretical knowledge of risks of the Internet. It deals with problems of cyberbullying, cyberstalking, sexting and cybergrooming in the youngest city of the Czech Republic, in Milovice. It describes the dangerous behaviour patterns that the children at the age of 11-15 years (i.e. the second stage of elementary schools) in that city are confronted with and that they tend to follow-up. The research shows how they perceive risks of the Internet and how much they trust strange people online. It finds out whether the children make relations with strangers and whether they meet them in real world, where they would look for help if needed and whether they are familiar with some projects focused on the Internet safety. The definition of risk factors of the new media and specification of child users are crucial for the thesis. The thesis also briefly describes Czech legislation connected with risks of cyberspace and outlines the profiles of the aggressors and their victims. It shows possible after-effects of cyber criminality on the real examples. It introduces various tools, projects and children and parents approaches that help them with the prevention and minimization of risks. The empiric part of the thesis is solved by quantitative method. In...

The master's thesis Cybercrime is a reaction to the increasing number of criminal activity related to the virtual space. It's main aim is to provide an overall description of this issue. Firstly the thesis presents theoretical problems regarding the definition of cybercrime. Following is an overview of international legislation and policy in the Czech Republic, EU, and USA. Second part is about two specific types of cybercrime - cyberstalking and cyberbullying. Not only are both defined theoretically, their respective participants (perpetrators, victims) and prevention are also described. Lastly the behaviour of adolescents online from the point of view of forming relationships and divulging personal information is presented.

This research study was conducted to determine if there were significant differences or relationships between teachers' perceptions of knowledge of Internet dangers to students and factors such as demographics, self-reported comfort levels with Internet use, and with knowledge of policies and laws regarding Internet safety. Three hundred seventy-two teachers from three central Florida school districts were surveyed using an adapted survey developed by authors Patchin and Hinduja (2006) and Willard (2006, 2009). The world of the Internet is constantly changing, and students will encounter harassment and dangers while pursuing their interests on line. Recent research on the types of Internet dangers involving youth (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009; Juvonen & Gross, 2008, Leichtling, 2008; Lenhart, Madden & Hitlin, 2005; Li, 2007; Willard, 2009), and evidence supporting limited adult knowledge of Internet dangers to youth (Finkelhor, Mitchell & Wolak, 2000; Hinduja & Patchin, 2009; Patchin & Hinduja, 2006; Willard, 2006,2009) provided the conceptual framework for this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to investigate each research question. These statistics included one-way ANOVA, Scheffe post-hoc analysis, chi-square tests of independence, independent T-tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. These findings demonstrated that the null hypotheses were rejected for each research question. Significant differences were found between teachers' knowledge of Internet dangers and age, years of experience, level of school taught, and personal comfort with the Internet. Other significant relationships were found between personal Internet comfort and knowledge of laws and policies, specifically the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act, and between male teachers and knowledge of victim behaviors. Gender was the only demographic variable found to be not significantly related to a teachers' knowledge of Internet dangers to students. The implications of these results validate the importance of more teacher training to increase knowledge of Internet dangers, policies and programs, as well as increase teachers' ability to identify victims and provide them with assistance. As technology expands, Internet dangers for children online expand and are a growing concern for parents, teachers, and administrators. Since technology will continue to grow, adults play a major role in educating children concerning the dangers of being online. However, adults struggle to play catch-up to the young digital natives, and are not really present to intervene when needed. We cannot cross the digital divide and help our students if we are not seeking out the information ourselves (Willard, 2009).

Previous research regarding the victimization of college students is primarily geared toward physical or sexual encounters. There is a limited scope of research regarding the online victimization of college students, specifically those involved in Greek life organizations. Furthermore, there is a misinterpretation of the definition of cyberstalking among college students, as many students are unaware that they have been personally victimized (Cass, 2011). This study seeks to examine college students’ perceptions of online victimization and how they may vary. The different student impressions and the prevalence of online victimization were examined using self-reported data from students enrolled in a university located in Eastern Tennessee (n=181). Statistical analyses were conducted and showed that increased activity on social media escalated the potential for victimization, which improved the understanding of cyberstalking among college students.

Internet has become a great part of our daily routines giving us the ability to perform various actions in many aspects of our personal and social life. The new available opportunities provided with the Internet enhancement have opened a great space for improvement in our lives but they have also provided space for new types of criminal behaviour to occur. Cyberbullying and cyberstalking are part of the wide range of criminal behaviors performed through an online device. The presence of online criminal behavior is accompanied by the increase on the online victimization rates. The aim of this paper is to explain online victimization performed through cyberbullying and cyberstalking based on the theories of routine activity, social learning and victim precipitation.The results show that online victimization is closely connected with the daily routines that individuals have accompanied by the interactions and associations that are performed during our social life who also influence the practise of online victimization. Anonymity is a commonly found factor almost always present and plays an important role on explaining the behavior itself for both the offender and the victim's side. Overall the findings show that both online offenders and online victims of cyberbullying and cyberstalking are given more engagement opportunities in the criminal act due to the constant usage and the inclusion of online devices in theor daily routines. The above accompanied with the anonymity and opportunity provided by cyberspace ease the " performance" of cyber victimization.

The introduction of cyber technology, accompanied by its fast developing nature, has not only resulted in numerous advantages to its user and society as a whole but has also produced harmful consequences specifically impacting on cyber crime. One of these harmful effects is cyber stalking. Cyber stalking is the use of the Internet or any electronic medium to stalk, harass and pursue victims. This unwanted perusal has various negative implications for the victim, as cyber stalking can disrupt many aspects of an individual’s lifestyle. In this study, the occurrence, nature and the impact of cyber stalking among the victims of cyber stalking were explored. Additionally, protective measures available to victims of cyber stalking were examined as a way to facilitate the operational efficiency of related legislation. This was done through determining the occurrence, nature and the impact of cyber stalking as well as the extent of the usage of social networks in the commission of cyber stalking. Legislation specific to South Africa and the effectiveness of such legislation were examined. The study implemented a qualitative approach. Twelve research participants who met the requirements of the study were selected by means of purposive and snowball sampling methods. The study was publicised on the Internet through current popular social network sites. In conjunction to the cyber theme of the study, the research participants were requested to complete an online e-mail interview to share their personal cyber stalking victimisation experiences. Within the constraints of the e-mail interview, a semi-structured interview schedule was incorporated in order to guide the research participants in sharing their cyber stalking victimisation experiences. The findings of the study were extensive; ranging from emerged patterns to unique and exclusive experiences. In brief, the study concludes that cyber stalking is occurring in South Africa, its nature and impact is complex and although there are many common themes within cyber stalking, it is uniquely situated to individual cyber stalking incident(s). Although there is no current South African legislation specifically aimed at addressing cyber stalking, South African legislation comprehensively deals with addressing the problem of cyber stalking within various related legislation. It was determined that although cyber stalking is effectively addressed in the drafting of legislation, it is ineffectively administered at grass roots level, where the police act as the gatekeepers and vital role players in the reporting and intervention of crime. Based upon the findings, as guided by the aims and objectives of the study, recommendations for the prevention and intervention of cyber stalking as well as recommendations for future research were made. As derived from the research participants’ responses as well as from current literature, recommendations focused on all victims of cyber stalking while specifically paying attention to young victims and victims who are business users. Recommendations were also made to assist in dealing with cyber stalking as well as recommendations aimed at assisting professional role players. In the final chapter of the study, emphasis is placed on awareness and educational campaigns aimed at informing the cyber community of cyber stalking. / Criminal & Procedural Law / Masters of Arts (Criminology)

The introduction of cyber technology, accompanied by its fast developing nature, has not only resulted in numerous advantages to its user and society as a whole but has also produced harmful consequences specifically impacting on cyber crime. One of these harmful effects is cyber stalking. Cyber stalking is the use of the Internet or any electronic medium to stalk, harass and pursue victims. This unwanted perusal has various negative implications for the victim, as cyber stalking can disrupt many aspects of an individual’s lifestyle. In this study, the occurrence, nature and the impact of cyber stalking among the victims of cyber stalking were explored. Additionally, protective measures available to victims of cyber stalking were examined as a way to facilitate the operational efficiency of related legislation. This was done through determining the occurrence, nature and the impact of cyber stalking as well as the extent of the usage of social networks in the commission of cyber stalking. Legislation specific to South Africa and the effectiveness of such legislation were examined. The study implemented a qualitative approach. Twelve research participants who met the requirements of the study were selected by means of purposive and snowball sampling methods. The study was publicised on the Internet through current popular social network sites. In conjunction to the cyber theme of the study, the research participants were requested to complete an online e-mail interview to share their personal cyber stalking victimisation experiences. Within the constraints of the e-mail interview, a semi-structured interview schedule was incorporated in order to guide the research participants in sharing their cyber stalking victimisation experiences. The findings of the study were extensive; ranging from emerged patterns to unique and exclusive experiences. In brief, the study concludes that cyber stalking is occurring in South Africa, its nature and impact is complex and although there are many common themes within cyber stalking, it is uniquely situated to individual cyber stalking incident(s). Although there is no current South African legislation specifically aimed at addressing cyber stalking, South African legislation comprehensively deals with addressing the problem of cyber stalking within various related legislation. It was determined that although cyber stalking is effectively addressed in the drafting of legislation, it is ineffectively administered at grass roots level, where the police act as the gatekeepers and vital role players in the reporting and intervention of crime. Based upon the findings, as guided by the aims and objectives of the study, recommendations for the prevention and intervention of cyber stalking as well as recommendations for future research were made. As derived from the research participants’ responses as well as from current literature, recommendations focused on all victims of cyber stalking while specifically paying attention to young victims and victims who are business users. Recommendations were also made to assist in dealing with cyber stalking as well as recommendations aimed at assisting professional role players. In the final chapter of the study, emphasis is placed on awareness and educational campaigns aimed at informing the cyber community of cyber stalking. / Criminal and Procedural Law / M. A. (Criminology)