Stalking
More than 80% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner.
When someone leaves an abusive relationship, they are at a higher risk of being stalked or murdered. Stalking is a very real and illegal aspect of domestic and dating violence. Below are some myths and facts about the issue itself and information on the newest form of stalking, cyberstalking. Intimate partners that stalk are four times more likely than intimate partners in the general population to physically assault their victims and six times more likely to sexually assault their victims (cite). If you or someone you know is being stalked, please create a safety plan and know your local resources.
| Myths | Realities | |
|---|---|---|
| Only celebrities are stalked. | 3.4 million people are stalked every year in the United States. We may hear more about celebrity stalking cases in the media, but the vast majority of stalking victims are ordinary citizens. | |
| If you ignore stalking it will go away. | Stalkers seldom “just stop.” In fact, behaviors can turn more and more violent as time goes on. Victims should seek help from advocates, law enforcement, and the courts to intervene to stop the stalking. | |
| Stalking is creepy but not dangerous. | Stalking is creepy and dangerous. Three out of four women who were murdered by an intimate partner had been previously stalked by the killer. | |
| Stalking is annoying but not illegal. | Stalking is a crime under the laws of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government. | |
| You can’t be stalked by someone you know. | If your current girlfriend or boyfriend tracks your every move or follows you around in a way that causes you fear, that is stalking. | |
| Modern surveillance technology is too expensive and confusing for most stalkers to use. | Stalkers can buy surveillance software and hardware for as little as $30 and can easily track victims’ every move on a computer. | |
| If someone confronts their stalker, they will go away. | Stalkers can be unreasonable and unpredictable. Confronting or trying to reason with a stalker can be dangerous. |
Cyberstalking
Cyberstalking can be defined as threatening behavior or unwanted advances directed at another using the Internet and other forms of online and computer communications. Cyberstalking is a relatively new phenomenon. With the decreasing expense and thereby increased availability of computers and online services, more individuals are purchasing computers and “logging onto” the Internet, making another form of communication vulnerable to abuse by stalkers.
Cyberstalkers target their victims through chat rooms, message boards, discussion forums, and e-mail. Cyberstalking takes many forms such as: threatening or obscene e-mail; spamming (in which a stalker sends a victim a multitude of junk e-mail); live chat harassment or flaming (online verbal abuse); leaving improper messages on message boards or in guest books; sending electronic viruses; sending unsolicited e-mail; tracing another person’s computer and Internet activity, and electronic identity theft. Similar to stalking off-line, online stalking can be a terrifying experience for victims, placing them at risk of psychological trauma, and possible physical harm. Many cyberstalking situations do evolve into off-line stalking, and a victim may experience abusive and excessive phone calls, vandalism, threatening or obscene mail, trespassing, and physical assault.
Cyberstalking and the Law
With personal information becoming readily available to an increasing number of people through the Internet and other advanced technology, state legislators are addressing the problem of stalkers who harass and threaten their victims over the World Wide Web. Stalking laws and other statutes criminalizing harassment behavior currently in effect in many states may already address this issue by making it a crime to communicate by any means with the intent to harass or alarm the victim. View the cyberstalking laws in your state.
Recent federal law has addressed cyberstalking as well. The Violence Against Women Act, passed in 2000, made cyberstalking a part of the federal interstate stalking statute. Other federal legislation that addresses cyberstalking has been introduced recently, but no such measures have yet been enacted. Consequently, there remains a lack of legislation at the federal level to specifically address cyberstalking, leaving the majority of legislative prohibitions against cyberstalking at the state level (Wiredpatrol.org).
If you are a Victim of Cyberstalking
- Victims who are under the age of 18 should tell their parents or another adult they trust about any harassments and/or threats.
- Experts suggest that in cases where the offender is known, victims should send the stalker a clear written warning. Specifically, victims should communicate that the contact is unwanted, and ask the perpetrator to cease sending communications of any kind. Victims should do this only once. Then, no matter the response, victims should under no circumstances ever communicate with the stalker again.
- Victims should save copies of this communication in both electronic and hard copy form.
If the harassment continues, you may wish to file a complaint with the stalker’s Internet service provider, as well as with their own service provider. Many Internet service providers offer tools that filter or block communications from specific individuals.
- Furthermore, Victims may want to file a report with local law enforcement or contact their local prosecutor’s office to see what charges, if any, can be pursued. Victims should save copies of police reports and record all contact with law enforcement officials and the prosecutor’s office. Victims can also contact online directory listings such as www.four11.com, www.switchboard.com, and www.whowhere.com to request removal from their directory.
- Finally, under no circumstances should victims agree to meet with the perpetrator face to face to “work it out,” or “talk.” No contact should ever be made with the stalker. Meeting a stalker in person can be very dangerous.
For more information on stalking visit the National Stalking Awareness Month website.
