The 'Strange' Sentencing: The New Stalking Laws and the Place of Stalking in Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

The New Zealand government plans to introduce a stalking offence into the Crimes Act 1961. At the time of writing the Justice Select Committee has unanimously recommended that the Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill proceed. The Bill aims to improve the criminal justice response to stalking — a response that was demonstrably lacking when AUT law student Farzana Yaqubi complained to the police that she feared for her life due to Kanwarpal Singh’s disturbing stalking behaviours. She was stabbed to death by Mr Singh several days after her second police report in December 2022. Advocates for the Bill argue that there is a lack of appreciation amongst criminal justice agents that stalking is not “wrongheaded romance” but poses a serious threat of harm to victims. This misunderstanding is reinforced by the current situation in which legal responses to stalking are piecemeal and patchwork.