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| Sexual
Harassment Laws | Stalking Laws
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Issues | Elder Abuse
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|
What
is Stalking? Definitions |
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Stalking – a course of conduct directed at a specific person
that involves repeated visual or physical proximity;
nonconsensual communication; verbal, written, or implied
threats; or a combination thereof that would cause fear in a
reasonable person. Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998 |
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Stalking generally refers to harassing or threatening behavior
that an individual engages in repeatedly, such as following a
person, appearing at a person’s home or place of employment,
making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or
objects, or vandalizing a persons property. |
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Legal definitions of stalking vary widely from state to state.
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North Dakota definition: |
| Stalking: to
engage in an intentional course of conduct directed at a
specific person which frightens, intimidates, or harasses that
person, and that serves no legitimate purpose. The course of
conduct may be directed toward that person or a member of that
person’s immediate family and must cause a reasonable person
to experience fear, intimidation, or harassment. |
| See the North
Dakota Century Code for further definition. |
|
Stalking Information |
| Stalking facts |
 |
8% of women
and 2% of men in the United States have been stalked at
some point in their lives. In other words, 1 out of every
12 American women (8.2 million and 1 out of every 45
American men (2 million) have been stalking victims. |
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An estimated
1,006,970 women and 370,990 men are stalked annually in
the United States. |
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74% of victims
were between the ages of 18-39. |
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About 12% of
cases result in criminal prosecution. |
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38% of female
victims were stalked by a spouse or ex-spouse. 43% of the
time this occurs after the relationship ended. |
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36% of male
victims were stalked by a stranger. |
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87% of
stalkers identified by victims were male. |
| |
National
Violence Against Women Survey, National Institute of
Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
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| Common Stalker
Characteristics |
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Jealous |
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Narcissistic |
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Obsessive and
compulsive |
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Fall
“instantly” in love |
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Manipulative |
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Does not take
responsibility for own feelings and actions |
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Needs to
control others |
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Socially
awkward |
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Views self as
victim of society, family etc. |
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| Types of
Stalkers |
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Simple
Obsessional |
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Virtually all
domestic violence cases involving stalking fall under this
category. The victim can be an ex-spouse, ex-lover, former
boss, or co-worker. In each of these cases, obsessional
activities begin after the relationship has gone sour or
the stalker perceives mistreatment by the victim. The
stalker campaigns to rectify the relationship or seeks
some type of retribution. This is the type of stalker in
60% of all cases. They tend to be the most dangerous. |
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Love
Obsessional |
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This stalker
is a stranger to the victim. They develop a love obsession
or fixation on another person with whom they have no
personal relationship. The stalker mounts a campaign of
harassment to make the victim aware or their existence.
The love obsessional stalker not only attempts to live out
their fantasies, but expects their victims to play their
assigned roles. They believe they can make their object of
affection love them back. This is the type of stalker in
30% of all cases. |
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Erotomania |
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The erotomanic
stalker, usually female, has the delusional belief that
they are passionately loved by another. They go to great
lengths to contact the person of their delusion, usually a
person of higher socio-economic class and status, or an
unattainable public figure. These stalkers are often
described as celebrity stalkers or obsessed fans. This is
the least common type of stalker. |
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| Feelings
Experienced by Victims of Stalkers |
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Acceptance/Denial |
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Aggression |
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Anger/Rage |
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Anxious/Hyper
vigilance |
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Fear/Terror |
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Depression/Withdrawn |
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Guilt |
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Helplessness/Incapacitated |
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Integrating
life change |
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Isolated |
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Kindness/Pity |
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Loss of
short-term memory |
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Minimization/Rationalization |
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Mistrust |
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Mourning loss
of security |
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Paranoid/Hunted/Suspicious |
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Permanently
distracted |
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Powerlessness/Vulnerable |
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Sleeplessness |
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| If you or someone
you know is a victim of stalking, contact your local domestic
violence program, law enforcement agency or call this toll
free number: |
| HELP-LINE,
1-800-472-2911, 24-hours, 7 days a week |
| For further
information, resources materials, etc. contact: |
ND Council on
Abused Women’s Services/
Coalition Against Sexual Assault
418 East Rosser Avenue, #320
Bismarck, ND 58501-4046
888-255-6240 or 701-255-6240
[Email]
Stalking Behavior
[Website]
Stalking Victim’s Sanctuary
[Website]
The Anti-stalking Web Site
[Website]
Communities Against Violence Network
[Website] |
