Stalking

Prevalence

Stalking is a growing behavior. The U.S. Department of Justice reported in 2009 that 3.4 million people reported stalking in a single year. According to the National Violence Against Women survey, almost 10% of women and 2% of men report being stalked during their lifetimes. One survey indicates that stalking victimization is reported at a much higher rate in the college population, from 25% to 31%. Studies suggest that it may be one of the most underreported crimes. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), only 37% of male victims and 41% of female victims reported stalking to the police, and approximately half of all victims never seek any type of help. The most common reasons victims give for not seeking help are that they did not think the stalking behavior was serious; they wanted to handle the situation themselves; or because they believed the situation was “too private.” In addition to these reasons, victims indicated that they did not contact the police because they feared revenge from the stalker or worried that the police would not believe them.

Stalking Behaviors

It is important to consider the context of stalking victimization beyond individual incidents. The behaviors that constitute stalking may seem benign at first to both the victims and the law enforcement. An offender may make repeated phone calls, send e-mails or gifts, follow or watch the victim, and wait for or appear in public places the victim frequents. A threat may be explicit or implied. For example, a stalker who sends his victim a present from her Amazon “wish list” may be demonstrating that he now knows where she lives and her password on the site. While data from the NCVS reports that 1 in 5 stalking victims fear bodily harm to themselves, about 4 in 10 have also received threats to their families, friends, coworkers, or family pet.

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