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For other uses, see Stalking (disambiguation).
Stalking (from Middle English stalk: from Old English bestealcian; akin to Old English stelan to steal) is a legal term for a pattern of offensive behavior involving repeated harassment or other forms of invasion of a person\'s privacy in a manner that causes fear to its target.
Statutes vary between jurisdiction but may include such acts as:
Stalking can also include seeking and obtaining the person\'s personal information in order to contact them; e.g. looking for their details on computers, electoral rolls, personal files and other material with the person\'s personal details without their consent. Personal details include their date of birth, marital status, home address, email address, telephone number (landline and mobile), where they work, or which school, college or university they go to; and personal information on their family and friends and any other sensitive and confidential information (e.g. medical conditions and disabilities etc.)
According to the United States National Center for Victims of Crime, an average of one out of every 12 women and one out of every 45 men will be stalked during their lifetime.[citation needed]
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Stalking exists on several levels. Victims may or may not be aware that it is happening, and the perpetrators may or may not have malicious intent. Stalkers may even have a sincere but misguided belief that their victims love them, or have a desire to help the victims.Stalking Contrary to crimes that consist of a single act, stalking consists of a series of actions which in themselves can be legal, such as calling on the phone, sending gifts, or sending emails.CyberStalking: menaced on the Internet Most cases of stalking never escalate to extreme levels of violence or harassment.
Stalkers will often denigrate their victims which reduces the victims to objects. This allows stalkers to feel angry at victims without experiencing empathy, or they may feel that they are entitled to behave as they please toward the victims. Viewing victims as "lesser," "weak" or otherwise seriously flawed can support delusions that the victims needs to be rescued, or punished, by the stalkers. Stalkers may slander or defame the character of their victims which may isolate the victims and give the stalkers more control or a feeling of power.
Stalkers may use manipulative behavior such as bringing legal action against their victims. They may also (with the help of corrupt mental health professionals) falsely label victims with mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia. Stalkers may even threaten to commit suicide in order to coerce victims to intervene - all methods of forcing victims to have contact with the stalkers.
Stalkers may use threats and violence to frighten their victims. They may engage in vandalism and property damage (usually to victims\' cars or residences). They may use physical attacks that are mostly meant to frighten. Less common are sexual assaults or physical attacks that leave serious physical injuries.
The great majority of stalkers are male. The demographic characteristics and psychiatric status of male and female stalkers do not differ, except that male stalkers are more likely to have a history of criminal offenses and substance abuse. The duration of the time invested in stalking and the frequency of associated violence were equivalent between male and female stalkers. Women are more likely to target someone they have known, such as a professional contact and rarely target strangers. Both male and female stalkers are more likely to target females than males. Men very rarely target other men.A Study of Women Who Stalk. AJP 2001
In "A Study of Women Who Stalk", by Purcell, Pathé and Mullen, the authors concluded that the two major psychiatric variables that differentiate female from male stalkers are the motivations for stalking and the choice of victims. Female stalkers more often seek intimacy with their victim, who is usually someone they already know. Victims frequently work in professional helping roles such as doctors, nurses, therapists and counselors. Context was found to differ, but the conclusion was that the intrusiveness and harmfulness did not. Female stalkers are potentially as dangerous as any male stalker.
Psychologists tend to group individuals who stalk into two categories: psychotic and nonpsychotic. Many stalkers have pre-existing psychotic disorders such as delusional disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophrenia. Most stalkers are nonpsychotic and exhibit disorders or neuroses such as major depression, adjustment disorder, or substance dependence, as well as a variety of Axis II personality disorders, such as antisocial, avoidant, borderline, dependent, narcissistic, or paranoia. The nonpsychotic stalkers\' pursuit of victims can be influenced by various psychological factors, including anger and hostility, projection of blame, obsession, dependency, minimization and denial, and jealousy. Conversely, as is more commonly the case, the stalker has no antipathic feelings towards the victim, but simply a longing that cannot be fulfilled due to either in their personality or their society\'s norms. A comparative study of psychotic and nonpsychotic stalking
In "A Study of Stalkers," Mullen et al (2000) A Study of Stalkers Types of stalkers identify five types of stalkers:
Many stalkers fit categories with paranoia disorders. Intimacy-seeking stalkers often have delusional disorders involving erotomanic delusions, or delusions that are secondary to a preexisting psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia. With rejected stalkers, the continual clinging to a relationship of an inadequate or dependent person couples with the entitlement of the narcissistic personality, and the persistent jealousy of the paranoid personality. In contrast, resentful stalkers demonstrate an almost “pure culture of persecution,” with delusional disorders of the paranoid type, paranoid personalities, and paranoid schizophrenia.
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The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page. |
Section 264 of the Criminal Code of Canada, titled "criminal harassment"Section 264 of the Criminal Code of Canada addresses acts which are termed "stalking" in many other jurisdictions. The provisions of the section came into force in August of 1993 with the intent of further strengthening laws protecting women.Department of Justice of Canada - Review and Backgrounder on section 264 It is a hybrid offence, which may be punishable upon summary conviction or as an indictable offence, the latter of which may carry a prison term of up to ten years. Section 264 has withstood Charter challenges.Department of Justice - Criminal Harrassment
In China, stalking has been expressly forbidden since 1987 (now replaced by a new law, with similar substance),[citation needed] as in the context of organised crimes suppression, under Macau\'s laws.[citation needed]
In 2000, Japan enacted a national law to combat this behaviour, under the effect of Shiori Ino murder.Kin of stalking victim seek justice. The Japan Times (2003-06-12). Retrieved on 2008-02-14. Acts of stalking can be viewed as "interfering [with] the tranquility of others\' lives", and are prohibited under petty offence laws.
In England, stalking was criminalised by the enactment of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997,Office of Public Sector Information - Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (c. 40) which came into force on 16th June 1997. It makes it a criminal offence, punishable by up to six months imprisonment, to pursue a course of conduct which amounts to harassment of another on two or more occasions. The court can also issue a restraining order, which carries a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment if breached. Already before the enactment of the Act, the Malicious Communications Act 1998Office of Public Sector Information - Malicious Communications Act 1988 (c. 27) and the Telecommunications Act 1984 criminalised indecent, offensive or threatening phone calls and the sending of an indecent, offensive or threatening letter, electronic communication or other article to another person.
In Scotland, provision is made under the Protection from Harassment Act against stalking. It is not a criminal offence, however, but falls under the law of delict. Victims of stalking may sue for interdict against an alleged stalker, or a non-harassment order, breach of which is an offence.
The first state to criminalise stalking in the United States was California in 1990Are You Being Stalked? due to several high profile stalking cases in California, including the 1982 attempted murder of actress Theresa Saldana,Stalking by Rhonda Saunders the 1988 massacre by Richard Farley,Bill Analysis by Bill Lockyer the 1989 murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer,Culture of Patriarchy in Law: Violence From Antiquity to Modernity and five Orange County stalking murders also in 1989.Judge John Watson profileBill Analysis by Bill Lockyer The first anti-stalking law in the United States, California Penal Code Section 646.9, was developed and proposed by Municipal Court Judge John Watson of Orange County. Watson with U.S. Congressman Ed Royce introduced the law in 1990.Judge John Watson profileDomestic Violence Stalking by Nancy Lemon Also in 1990, the Los Angeles Police Department(LAPD) began the United States\' first Threat Management Unit, founded by LAPD Captain Robert Martin.
Within three yearsJudge John Watson profile thereafter, every state in the United States and some other common-law jurisdictions followed suit to create the crime of stalking, under different names such as criminal harassment or criminal menace. The Driver\'s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was enacted in 1994 in response to numerous cases of a driver\'s information being abused for criminal activity, examples such as the Saldana and Schaeffer stalking cases.DPPA and the Privacy of Your State Motor Vehicle RecordU.S. Senate Committee: Robert Douglas Testimony The DPPA prohibits states from disclosing a driver\'s personal information without consent by State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT INCLUDES UPDATES TO THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE made stalking punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The law took effect on 1 October 2007.The New Article 120, UCMJ This law brings the UCMJ in line with federal laws against stalking. Laws against stalking in different jurisdictions vary, and so do the definitions. Some make the act illegal as it stands, while others do only if the stalking becomes threatening or endangers the receiving end. In England and Wales, liability may arise in the event that the victim suffers either mental or physical harm as a result of being stalked (see R. v. Constanza). Many states in the US also recognize stalking as grounds for issuance of a civil restraining order. Since this requires a lower burden of proof than a criminal charge, laws recognizing non-criminal allegations of stalking suffer the same risk of abuse seen with false allegations of domestic violence.[citation needed]
Stalking does not consist of single incidents, but is a continuous process. Stalking can be a terrifying experience for victims, placing them at risk of psychological trauma, and possible physical harm. As 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). Moreover, the separated acts that make up the intrusion cannot by themselves cause the mental abuse, but do taken together (cumulative effect)."
Stalking has effects on a victim’s physiological health.UCLA WRC: StalkingAre you being stalked?(essay)
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In the book "El susurro de la mujer ballena" (The whisper of the Whale woman" by Peruvian writer Alonso Cueto, the protagonist, Veronica, is stalked by an obese female classmate of hers, whom everyone mocked in her school days.
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