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What are the factsabout stalking?The results of the April 1998National Violence Against WomenSurvey (for discussion, see Stalking inAmerica: Findings From the NationalViolence Against Women Survey.Washington, DC: National Institute ofJustice, 1998), jointly sponsored by the NationalInstitute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention, found that—■ One out of every 12 women (8,200,000) and one

out of every 45 men (2,000,000) in the UnitedStates have been stalked at some time in theirlives.

■ It is estimated that every year in the United

States, 1,006,970 women and 370,990 men arestalked.

■ Ninety percent of stalking victims were stalked

by just one person each during their lives. Ninepercent of female victims and 8 percent of malevictims were stalked by two different people, and1 percent of female victims and 2 percent of malevictims were stalked by three different people.

■ The majority of stalking victims (74 percent) are

between 18 and 39 years old.

■ In a 1-year period, women are three times more

likely to be stalked than raped, but they aretwo times more likely to be physically assaultedthan stalked.

■ Eighty-seven percent of the stalkers identified by

their victims were male.

■ Only 23 percent of female stalking victims and

36 percent of male stalking victims were stalkedby strangers.

■ Thirty-eight percent of female stalking victims

were stalked by current or former husbands, 10percent by current or former cohabiting partners,and 14 percent by current or former dates orboyfriends.

Resources for Information

and Assistance

National Center for Victims of Crime

1–800–FYI–CALL or 1–800–394–2255

www.ncvc.org

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1–800–799–SAFE or 1–800–799–7233

TTY 1–800–787–3224

www.ndvh.org

National Organization for Victim Assistance

1–800–TRY–NOVA or 1–800–879–6682

www.try-nova.org

Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center

1–800–627–6872

TTY 1–877–712–9279

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/ovcres/welcome.html

Violence Against Women Office

202–307–6026

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo

This brochure was developed by the National Center for 

Victims of Crime under a project supported by Grant No.

97–VF–GX–K007 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime,

Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

Points of view in this document are those of the author

and do not necessarily represent the official position

or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
What is stalking?

Stalking statutes vary from state to state. In general,stalking refers to repeated harassing or threateningbehavior by an individual, such as following a person,appearing at a person’s home or place of business, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages orobjects, or vandalizing a person’s property. Virtually anyunwanted contact between two people that directly orindirectly communicates a threat or places the victimin fear can be considered stalking.Anyone can be a stalker, just as anyone can be a stalkingvictim.Stalking is a crime that can touch anyone, regardless ofgender, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status,geographic location, or personal associations. Moststalkers are young to middle-aged men with aboveaverage intelligence.Unfortunately, there is no single psychological orbehavioral profile for stalkers. Every stalker is different.This makes it virtually impossible to devise a singleeffective strategy that can be applied to every situation.It is vital that stalking victims immediately seek theadvice of local victim specialists who can work withthem to devise a safety plan for their unique situationand circumstances.Some stalkers develop an obsession for another personwith whom they have no personal relationship. Whenthe victim does not respond as the stalker hopes, thestalker may attempt to force the victim to comply byuse of threats and intimidation. Whenthreats and intimidation fail, somestalkers turn to violence.The most prevalent type ofstalking case involves someprevious personal or romanticrelationship between thestalker and the victim. Thisincludes domestic violencecases and relationships in which

there is no history of violence. In these cases, stalkerstry to control every aspect of their victims’ lives. Thevictim becomes the stalker’s source of self-esteem, andthe loss of the relationship becomes the stalker’s greatest fear. This dynamic makes a stalker dangerous.Stalking cases that emerge from domestic violence situations, however, are the most lethal type of stalking.The stalker may attempt to renew the relationship bysending flowers, gifts, and love letters. When the victim spurns these unwelcome advances, the stalker oftenturns to intimidation. Attempts at intimidation typically begin in the form of an unjustified and inappropriate intrusion into the victim’s life. The intrusionsbecome more frequent over time. This harassingbehavior often escalates to direct or indirect threats.Unfortunately, cases that reach this level of seriousnessoften end in violence.If You Are Being StalkedAny person who suspects that he or she is beingstalked should report all contacts and incidents tolocal law enforcement. To make arrest and prosecution more likely, stalking victims should documentevery incident as thoroughly as possible, includingcollecting/keeping videotapes, audiotapes, phoneanswering machine messages, photos of property damage, letters received, objects left, affidavits from eyewitnesses, and notes. Experts also recommend thatvictims keep a journal to document all incidents,including the time, date, and other relevant information for each. Regardless of how much evidence theyhave gathered, victims should file a complaint withlaw enforcement as soon as possible.As a result of the stalking, you may experience a variety of physical, emotional, and financial consequences.The emotional trauma of constantly being on alert forthe stalker, or the next harassment, may seem to use upall the energy you have. You may feel vulnerable andout of control of your life. You may have nightmares.

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