Sexual Harassment Support
Contact Us

Copyright SHS
2005-2009

Terms of Use
Stalking
The act of stalking is a continuous process, consisting of numerous incidents.  Rokkers writes,
"Stalking is a form of mental assault, in which the perpetrator repeatedly, unwantedly, and disruptively
breaks into the life-world of the victim, with whom they have no relationship (or no longer have)."  For the
most part, the separate acts that make up the intrusion cannot by themselves cause the mental abuse,
but taken together they do, as there is a cumulative effect.  

Stalking Behaviors

  • Waiting at the victim's workplace or in their neighborhood
  • Persistent phone calls, text messages, emails, letters or notes
  • Placing messages in the media
  • Sending gifts from the seemingly "romantic" (i.e. flowers and/or candy) to the bizarre (i.e.
    pornographic gifts)
  • Breaking into the victim's home or car
  • Gathering information on the victim: contacting people who know the victim; searching public or
    personal records, or the trash, for information.
  • Surveillance:
    -persistently watching the individual
    -employing detective agencies to watch the victim
    -using cameras, audio equipment,  phone tapping, or bugging the victim's home or
        workplace
    -installing spyware on the victim's computer
    -installing GPS tracking systems on the victim's car or cellphone
  • Manipulative behavior (for example: bringing legal action against the victim, or threatening to
    commit suicide in order to coerce the victim to intervene--all methods of forcing contact with the
    stalker)
  • Defamation of character: the stalker will often lie to others about the victim, trying to limit their
    options and weaken their support network.  This isolates the victim, making them seem more
    vulnerable, and gives the stalker a feeling of power and control.  
  • "Objectification": the stalker derogates the victim, thus reducing them to an object which allows
    the stalker  to feel angry with them without experiencing empathy.  It helps the stalker feel they
    are entitled to behave as they please toward the victim.  Viewing her/him as "lesser,"  "weak" or
    otherwise seriously flawed can support delusions that the victim needs to be rescued, or
    punished, by the stalker.
  • Threats and violence:  the stalker uses threats to frighten the victim; vandalism and property
    damage (usually to the victims car); physical attacks that leave abrasions and bruises (mostly
    meant to frighten); less common--physical attacks that leave serious physical injuries, or sexual
    assaults.
  • Cyberstalking: electronic mediums, such as the Internet, are used to pursue, harass or contact
    another in an unsolicited fashion.  The stalker may install spyware on their target's computer or
    cellphone, and use an Internet connection to upload the information they gather.   They may loiter
    around forums they know their target frequents, even joining the forums in order to contact their
    target, or contact other forum members the target interacts with.   Cyberstalking is an extension
    of the physical form of stalking.
  • Gang stalking:  stalking by multiple perpetrators, or one perpetrator is able to convince others to
    assist in his/her stalking and harassing activities against a victim.

Recent Stalking Statistics--The 2009 U.S. Department of Justice Report

In January of 2009, The U.S. Department of Justice released a report based on a national crime victims
survey of stalking and harassment victims.  Below are just a few of the statistics of this 16 page report.

  • During a 12-month period an estimated 14 in every 1,000 persons age 18 or older were victims
    of stalking.
  • About half (46%) of stalking victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week, and
    11% of victims said they had been stalked for 5 years or more.
  • The risk of stalking victimization was highest for individuals who were divorced or separated—34
    per 1,000 individuals.
  • Women were at greater risk than men for stalking.
  • About 43% of victims stated that police were contacted at least once regarding the stalking.
  • Male (37%) and female (41%) stalking victimizations were equally likely to be reported to the
    police.
  • Approximately 1 in 4 stalking victims reported some form of cyberstalking such as e-mail (83%)
    or instant messaging (35%). Electronic monitoring was used to stalk 1 in 13 victims (i.e. GPS
    monitoring, bugs, phone tapping, video).
  • 46% of stalking victims felt fear of not knowing what would happen next.
  • Nearly 3 in 4 stalking victims knew their offender in some capacity.

Download the report: Stalking Victimization in the United States

Stalking isn't taken seriously

In conjunction with the Network for Surviving Stalking, the University of Leicester has been conducting an
ongoing, international survey of stalking.   They report:

  • Half of the victims responding to the survey reported being told they were being paranoid or over-
    reacting when they confided to friends and colleagues about their stalker.  
  • 57% of victims said they did not go to the police when their stalking problem started for fear of
    being ignored or laughed at.
  • A sixth of victims in the Leicester study said they were told they were lucky to receive such
    attention.
  • A third of these victims said that prior to being stalked, they’d thought that only mentally ill people
    were responsible for stalking.  

Patterns

According to the U.S. National Center For The Victims Of Crime, 1 out of every 12 women will be stalked
during her lifetime.  1 out of 45 men will be stalked during his lifetime.  Over one million women, and
nearly 380,000 men are stalked annually.
Recommended:
In the article "Stalkers and their Victims," published in Psychiatric Times, Pathý and Mullen reported:

    "The impact on the victim's psychological and social well-being is considerable. Pathý and
    Mullen (1997) studied 100 victims of persistent stalking. The majority had to severely restrict their
    lives by changing or abandoning work, curtailing all social activities, and becoming virtual
    recluses. Over 80% developed significant anxiety symptoms. Sleep disturbance was common,
    and many resorted to substance abuse. Over half had symptoms of posttraumatic stress
    disorder. Feelings of powerlessness and depression were common, and nearly a quarter of the
    victims were actively considering suicide as a means of escape. Similar levels of distress and
    disturbance were reported in Hall's study (1998) ."

According to the University of Leicester Study:  

  • a third of victims said they’d lost their job or relationship or had been forced to move because of
    the stalking.
  • 98% of victims reported emotional effects due to stalking.  These included anxiety, sleep
    disturbance, anger, depression, paranoia, agoraphobia and post-traumatic stress disorder.
  • Half of the victims participating in the University of Leicester study said they’d lost out financially
    due to stalking.
  • A third said they’d paid for repairs to damage inflicted by a stalker and a fifth paid for legal advice.

In addition, stalking can effect work and school performance in several ways.   The  behaviors often
interfere directly with  attendance or productivity and result in the workplace or school becoming an
unsafe location, or the victim's feeling they are unsafe. Further, stalking may indirectly affect a person's
ability to work due to the many adverse emotional consequences suffered such as headaches, poor
concentration, depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, helplessness, humiliation, gastrointestinal disorders,
and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), etc.    Home will also feel unsafe, and the victim's ability to
function and complete daily tasks will usually be affected.

(For other effects,  see Effects of Sexual Harassment )

Sources: 4, 5, 10, 27, 41, 48, 57, 67, 75, 78, 79, 81
Stalkers often ‘research’ their victims, searching public records for information, or manipulating family or
friends of the victim.   The University of Leicester research reports 40% of stalkers obtained information
from people’s friends. 27% got information from their work-place and from the victim’s family.  17% of
the information came from public records.

Moreover, it is not always just the initial victim who is stalked.  According to The University of Leicester
research, a quarter of victims said their children had also been targeted.  A third reported the stalker
also harassed family and friends.  A fifth said coworkers had been harassed.

Romantically obsessed stalkers refuse to believe the victim does not want a relationship with them.   
However, stalking can also be a form of retaliation because of some perceived slight.  Indeed, many
sexual harassment survivors report being stalked in retaliation for reporting their harassers.

Stalking is a crime of power and control.  Stalkers tend to obsess about their victim.   They may make
many plans for the future that involve their victim. Often, the great amount of time (and sometimes
money) they spend invested in stalking often leads them to believe that continued stalking is justified.  

Stalkers tend to have very weak social skills, and usually see nothing wrong with their behavior.  
(Normal individuals would be mortified to be caught following other people, looking for information about
them, tracking them on the Internet, leaving notes, and other inappropriate behavior displayed by
stalkers.)  

Few stalkers see how their actions are hurting others, and they do not believe society's rules apply to
them.  They do not believe they are threatening, intimidating, or even that they are stalking someone.   
Most stalkers see all of their actions simply as attempts to get closer to their target, help them, or to gain
their love.  To the victim, it is like a "prolonged rape."    For more information, see Types of Stalkers.

Effects of stalking

In their 2009 report, the U.S. Department of Justice reports the impact of stalking on the victims:

  • 46.1% reported fear of not knowing what would happen next.  29.1% were afraid the behavior
    would never stop.
  • More than half of the stalking victims feared bodily harm to themselves, their child, or another
    family member.
  • 1 in 7 victims had to move to escape the stalker/s.   
  • About 3 in 10 of stalking victims accrued out-of-pocket costs for things such as attorney fees,
    security measures/devices, damage to property, child care costs, moving expenses, or changing
    phone numbers.
  • More than half of stalking victims lost 5 or more days from work. (Also leads to loss of income).
  • Anger/annoyance was the most common emotion experienced by victims (72%).  Others
    reported fear (42%), anxiety (26.8%), helplessness (10%), depression (10%).

Stalking Help, a stalking victims' resource organization based at the University of Texas, reports some
effects of stalking:  

  • 93% of stalking victims indicate that being stalked had a significant negative impact on their
    personal relationships.
  • 63% of stalking victims reported conflict in their friendships as a result of being stalked. The
    conflict was most often created by victims' unwillingness to attend social events where their
    stalker might be present and friend's frustration because they believed the victim was not doing
    enough to deter their stalker.
  • Many stalking victims indicated that they had changed jobs or transferred to another school to
    escape the always-present terror they experienced.
  • Most stalking victims reported that they were at a loss about what they could do to end their
    victimization. Most of the tactics they tried seemed to make matters worse.
  • Many of the victims reported living in perpetual fear that something might push their stalker over
    the edge and lead him to physically assault, sexually assault, or even murder them.
A support community for anyone who has experienced sexual harassment.
Stalking is defined as the willful and repeated
following, watching, and/or harassing of another
person.  In most cases, the purpose of stalking is to
force a relationship with an unwilling or unavailable
target.  It is a crime of power and control.

Contrary to other crimes that usually consist of a
single act, stalking consists of a series of actions
spread out over time.  Stalking is illegal but can
involve actions which in themselves are legal, such
as gathering information, calling on the phone, or
sending gifts or emails.  
Exactly like any other crime, behaviour, or clinical disorder,
stalking exists on a continuum of severity. The stalking may
be so subtle that the victim may not even aware that it is
happening, or the perpetrator may have a sincere belief that
“if they would just get to know me, they would like me”, or that
“I just want to help them,“ with no malicious intent. Most
cases of stalking do not even rise to extreme levels of
violence or harassment.