Stalking

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For other uses, see Stalking (disambiguation).

Stalking is a legal term for 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:

  • repeated physical following;
  • unwanted contact (by letter or other means of communication);
  • observing a person's actions closely for an extended period of time; or
  • contacting family members, friends, or associates of a target inappropriately
  • cyberstalking

According to the US's National Center for 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.[1]

Contents

[edit] Psychology and behaviors

Stalking exists on a continuum of severity. The stalking may be subtle enough that the victim may not even be aware that it is happening, or the perpetrator may have no malicious intent. They may even have a sincere belief that the victim would like them, or have a desire to help the victim.[2] Contrary to other crimes that usually 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.[3] Most cases of stalking do not ever escalate to extreme levels of violence or harassment. [1]

The stalker will often derogate the victim which reduces them to an object. This allows the stalker to feel angry at them without experiencing empathy, or feel they are entitled to behave as they please toward the victim. Viewing the victim as "lesser," "weak" or otherwise seriously flawed can support delusions that the victim needs to be rescued, or punished, by the stalker. They may slander or defame the character of the victim which helps to isolate them and give the stalker more control, or a feeling of power.

Stalkers may use manipulative behavior such as bringing legal action against the victim, or threatening to commit suicide in order to coerce the victim to intervene - all methods of forcing the victim to have contact with the stalker.

Stalkers may use threats and violence to frighten the victim. They may engage in vandalism and property damage (usually to the victims car). They may use physical attacks that leave abrasions and bruises which are mostly meant to frighten. Less common are physical attacks that leave serious physical injuries, or sexual assaults.[2]

[edit] Types of stalkers

Psychologists tend to group stalkers 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 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 paranoid. 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. [4]

In "A Study of Stalkers," Mullen et al (2000) [5] [6] identify six types of stalkers:

  • Rejected stalkers: pursue their victims in order to reverse, correct, or avenge a rejection (e.g. divorce, separation, termination).
  • Resentful stalkers: pursue a vendetta because of a sense of grievance against the victims - motivated mainly by the desire to frighten and distress the victim.
  • Intimacy seekers: The intimacy seeker seeks to establish an intimate, loving relationship with their victim. To them, the victim is a long sought-after soul mate, and they were meant to be together.
  • Eroto-manic stalker: This stalker believes that the victim is in love with them. The erotomaniac reinterprets what their victim says and does to support the delusion, and is convinced that the imagined romance will eventually become a permanent union. They often target a celebrity or a person of a higher social status (though it is important to note, not all celebrity stalkers are erotomaniacs).
  • Incompetent suitor: despite poor social/courting skills, possess a sense of entitlement to an intimate relationship with those who have attracted their amorous interest.
  • Predatory stalker: spy on the victim in to prepare and plan an attack - usually sexual – on the victim.

The 2002 National Victim Association Academy define an additional form of stalking. The Terrorism stalker also known as the political stalker, uses stalking as a means to accomplish a political agenda, often by using threats and intimidation to force their target to refrain and/or become involved in some particular activity, regardless of the victim's consent. [7]

Many stalkers fit categories with paranoid disorders. Intimacy-seeking stalkers often have delusional disorders that are secondary to preexisting psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. With rejected stalkers, the continual clinging to a relationship of an inadequate or dependant 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. [5]


[edit] Gender Studies in Stalking Pathology

Most stalkers are male, but women can also be stalkers. The demographic characteristics of the male and female stalkers do not differ, although more male stalkers report a history of criminal offenses and more report substance abuse. The psychiatric status of male and female stalkers do not otherwise differ. 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 are more likely to target other females. Men, on the other hand, do not usually target other men. Women are also much less likely to target a stranger. .[8] [6]

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 is motivation for stalking and choice of victim. Female stalkers seek intimacy with the victim, who usually is someone already known. The victim is most often chosen from those who assume a professional role of helper. This could be a doctor or nurse, a therapist or counselor. Context was found to differ, but the conclusion was the intrusiveness and harmfulness did not. In other words, female stalkers are potentially as dangerous as any male stalker.[8]

[edit] Laws on stalking

The first state to criminalise stalking in the United States is California enacted in 1990[9] due to several high profile stalking cases in California, including the 1982 attempted murder of actress Theresa Saldana[10], the 1988 massacre by Richard Farley[11], the 1989 murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer[12][13], and five Orange County stalking murders in 1990.[14][11] 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. [14][15]

Within three years[14] 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.[16][17] The DPPA prohibits states from disclosing a driver's personal information without consent by State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). 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).[citation needed] 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]

Section 264 of the Criminal Code of Canada, titled "criminal harassment" [18] 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. [19] It is a hybrid offence, which may be punishable upon summary conviction or as an indictable offence, the latter of which which may carry a prison term of up to ten years. Section 264 has withstood Charter challenges [20].

In 2000, Japan enacted a national law to combat this behaviour. Acts of stalking can be viewed as "interfering [with] the tranquility of others' lives", and are prohibited under petty offence laws in China, since 1987 (now replaced by a new law, with similar substance). [citation needed] Stalking, as in the context of organised crimes suppression, is expressly forbidden under Macau's laws.[citation needed]

[edit] Effects of stalking

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 he has no relationship (or no longer has)....Moreover, the separated acts that make up the intrusion cannot by themselves cause the mental abuse, but do taken together (cumulative effect)."[3]

[edit] On a victim's mental and emotional health

[edit] On a victim’s physiological health

Stalking has effects on a victim’s physiological health.[1][21][22]


For a detailed list of stalked celebrities, see List of stalked celebrities.

[edit] For further reading

[edit] Stalking in media and literature

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c NCVC Stalking Resource Center
  2. ^ a b Stalking
  3. ^ a b CyberStalking: menaced on the internet
  4. ^ A comparative study of psychotic and nonpsychotic stalking
  5. ^ a b A Study of Stalkers
  6. ^ a b Types of stalkers
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ a b A Study of Women Who Stalk. AJP 2001
  9. ^ Are You Being Stalked?
  10. ^ Stalking by Rhonda Saunders
  11. ^ a b Bill Analysis by Bill Lockyer
  12. ^ Culture of Patriarchy in Law: Violence From Antiquity to Modernity
  13. ^ It Takes A Star from CrimeLibrary.org
  14. ^ a b c Judge John Watson profile
  15. ^ Domestic Violence Stalking by Nancy Lemon
  16. ^ DPPA and the Privacy of Your State Motor Vehicle Record
  17. ^ U.S. Senate Committee: Robert Douglas Testimony
  18. ^ Section 264 of the Criminal Code of Canada
  19. ^ Department of Justice of Canada - Review and Backgrounder on section 264
  20. ^ Department of Justice - Criminal Harrassment
  21. ^ UCLA WRC: Stalking
  22. ^ Are you being stalked?(essasy)

[edit] External links

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