Victim blaming and secondary victimization experiences among victims of stalking in accordance with Turkish Penal Code 123/A

In Turkish, stalking refers to persistent following. It is described as chronic behavioral patterns that occur over months or years. Various behavioral patterns such as regularly following the victim and third parties such as the victim's family and close relatives via calling, texting or trying to communicate the victim through other people even if the victim rejects; being in the places that frequently visited by the victim; exhibiting threatening behaviors; entering the victim's residence without permission or damaging the victim's belongings; and discrediting the victim corresponds to this type of crime. The crime of stalking has only entered into force in our country in 2022. In this thesis research, face-to-face and online in-depth interviews were conducted with 5 female participants over the age of 18 who were victims of stalking residing in Turkey. Home and office environments were utilized for participants to feel safe and comfortable. The interviews were conducted within 30 days and lasted approximately 60 minutes. As a result, it was determined that the perpetrators were both women and men; third parties such as friends and family were also affected by the crime; the victims experienced various problems (lifestyle changes, psychological, social, economic and physical problems) in their private lives during their victimization. It was also found that they were exposed to various positive/negative attitudes (recklessness and accusation) and secondary victimization during the judicial process.