The Harassment of South Australian Government Dignitaries: A Mental Health Perspective

Anne S¹, Crouch C^1,2

¹South Australian Forensic Mental Health Service, ²South Australian Fixated Threat Assessment Centre

Biography:

Psychiatric Registrar for the South Australian Forensic Mental Health Service

Public Office Holders are at a greater risk of being stalked and harassed relative to the general public. International research has established that the primary risk of death or serious harm to public officials arises from fixated individuals, the majority of whom suffer from serious and untreated forms of mental illness.¹

In 2019, the South Australian Government approved funding for the creation of the South Australian Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, a joint initiative between SA Health and the South Australian Police Service. Due to a paucity of local data, an anonymous electronic survey was distributed to the members of the South Australian Parliament and the South Australian Judiciary to better characterise the nature and impact of harassment behaviour and the contributory role of mental illness towards this.

Responses were received from 33% of all members surveyed (n = 56) with 82% of participants reporting at least one form of harassment. The most common forms of intrusion were inappropriate correspondence and alarming behaviour at the electoral office or court; but threats of harm, physical assault and damage to property were also reported. The resultant psychosocial impacts of harassment behaviour included fearfulness (reported by 67%), increased utilisation of security measures at home (43%) and in the workplace (37%), and disruption to daily routine (23%). Respondents thought the majority of perpetrators suffered from some form of mental illness.

These findings demonstrate that SA government dignitaries experience a high level of harassment and will greatly benefit from the recent establishment of the dedicated threat assessment service.

References:

1. Fixated Research Group. (2006). Inappropriate Communications, Approaches and Attacks on the British Royal Family, with Additional Consideration of Attacks on Politicians. London: Home Office.