Unprecedented interest in stalking over

the past decade has produced media

accounts of stalking victims,1

 passage of

antistalking laws in all 50 States and the

District of Columbia,2

 and development

of a model antistalking code.3

 Despite

this interest, research on stalking has

been limited to studies of small, unrepresentative, or clinical samples of known

stalkers;4

 law journal reviews of the

constitutionality and effectiveness of

specific antistalking statutes;5

 and case

studies of individual stalkers.6

 Thus,

empirical data have been lacking on

such fundamental questions about

stalking as:

• How much stalking is there in the

United States?

• Who stalks whom?

• How often do stalkers overtly threaten

their victims?

• How often is stalking reported to the

police?

• What are the psychological and social

consequences of stalking?

This Research in Brief presents data from

the first-ever national study on stalking

and addresses these and related questions.

Since the data show stalking to be much

more prevalent than previously thought

and include other findings of broad public

concern, they have significance for legislators, policymakers, intervention planners,

and researchers as well as the public

health and criminal justice communities.

The data are from the National

Violence Against Women (NVAW)

Survey, a nationally representative

telephone survey of 8,000 U.S.

women and 8,000 U.S. men (see

“Survey Methodology and Demographic Description of the Sample,”

page 15). The survey, which asked

detailed questions about respondents’

experiences with violence, including

stalking, was sponsored jointly by the

National Institute of Justice and the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention through a grant to the

Center for Policy Research.

What is stalking?

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 business,

making harassing phone calls, leaving

written messages or objects, or vandalizing a person’s property. These

actions may or may not be accompanied by a credible threat of serious

harm, and they may or may not be

precursors to an assault or murder.7

Legal definitions of stalking vary widely

from State to State. Though most States

define stalking as the willful, malicious,

and repeated following and harassing of

another person, some States include in

their definition such activities as lyingin-wait, surveillance, nonconsensual

R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

We are pleased to publish this first in

a series of joint reports on violence

against women.

When the National Institute of Justice

(NIJ) and the National Center for

Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)

launched our partnership to study

violence against women, there were

no national data on stalking and its

impact. This first-ever national survey

has already made a major contribution. We eagerly await findings from

other aspects of the study and

anticipate reports on the incidence

and prevalence of violence, partner

violence, and rape.

This NIJ/NCIPC partnership to learn

more about violence against women

is based on a research agenda

developed by the National Academy

of Sciences, which was mandated by

the Violence Against Women Act

(Title IV of the Crime Act of 1994)

and supported by NIJ and CDC.

Joint research initiatives stimulate a

rich cross-fertilization of ideas and

bring interdisciplinary perspectives to

our knowledge base. The interests of

both NCIPC and NIJ in this area are

grounded in their common focus on

social policy. NIJ brings a criminal

justice perspective; NCIPC examines

the issue from a public health and

prevention perspective.

We hope the result will be a deeper

and broader understanding of the

implications of this violence and the

effective policy response.

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Jeremy Travis, Director

National Institute of Justice

Mark Rosenberg, Director

National Center for Injury

Prevention and Control, Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute of Justice

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

April 1998

Stalking in America: Findings From the

National Violence Against Women Survey

by Patricia Tjaden and Nancy Thoennes Partners in Research on 

Violence Against Women
Research in Brief

2

communication, telephone harassment, and vandalism.8

 While most

States require that the alleged stalker

engage in a course of conduct showing that the crime was not an isolated

event, some States specify how many

acts (usually two or more) must occur

before the conduct can be considered

stalking.9

 State stalking laws also

vary in their threat and fear requirements. Most stalking laws require that

the perpetrator, to qualify as a stalker,

make a credible threat of violence

against the victim; others include in

their requirements threats against the

victim’s immediate family; and still

others require only that the alleged

stalker’s course of conduct constitute

an implied threat.10

The definition of stalking used in the

NVAW Survey closely resembles the

definition of stalking used in the

model antistalking code for States

developed by the National Institute

of Justice.11 The survey defines

stalking as “a course of conduct

directed at a specific person that

involves repeated visual or physical

proximity, nonconsensual communication, or verbal, written or implied

threats, or a combination thereof,

that would cause a reasonable person

fear,” with repeated meaning on two

or more occasions. The model

antistalking code does not require

Issues and Findings

Discussed in this Brief: Results of a

nationally representative telephone survey of

8,000 women and 8,000 men about their

experiences with stalking, cosponsored by

the National Institute of Justice and the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

and conducted by the Center for Policy

Research. The survey provides the first

national data on stalking in the United

States.

Key issues: This study provides empirical

data on the prevalence and characteristics of

stalking in the general population: How

much stalking is there in the United States?

Who stalks whom? How often do stalkers

overtly threaten their victims? How often is

stalking reported to the police? What are the

psychological and social consequences of

stalking? Also considered in this report is the

key issue of how to define stalking.

Key findings and policy implications:

Analysis of survey data produced the

following results:

• Stalking is more prevalent than previously

thought: 8 percent of women and 2 percent

of men in the United States have been stalked

at some time in their life; an estimated

1,006,970 women and 370,990 men are

stalked annually. Given these findings,

stalking should be treated as a legitimate

criminal justice and public health concern.

• American Indian/Alaska Native women

are significantly more likely to report being

stalked than women of other racial or ethnic

backgrounds. More research is needed to

establish the degree of variance and

determine how much of the variance may be

explained by demographic, social, and

environmental factors.

• Although stalking is a gender-neutral

crime, most (78 percent) stalking victims are

female and most (87 percent) stalking

perpetrators are male.

• Adults between 18 and 29 years old are

the primary targets of stalking, comprising 52

percent of all victims.

• Most stalking cases involve perpetrators

and victims who know each other; 23 percent

of all female victims and 36 percent of all

male victims are stalked by strangers.

• Women are significantly more likely than

men (59 percent and 30 percent, respectively)

to be stalked by intimate partners, about half

of whom stalk their partners while the

relationship is intact. Since most stalking

cases involve victims and perpetrators who

know each other, future research should

focus on intimate and acquaintance stalking,

rather than “celebrity” stalking.

• There is a strong link between stalking

and other forms of violence in intimate

relationships: 81 percent of women who

were stalked by a current or former husband

or cohabiting partner were also physically

assaulted by that partner and 31 percent

were also sexually assaulted by that partner. It

is imperative, therefore, that America’s

criminal justice community receive comprehensive training on the special safety needs of

victims of intimate partner stalking.

• Less than half of all stalking victims are

directly threatened by their stalkers, although

the victims, by definition, experience a high

level of fear. Thus, “credible threat” requirements should be eliminated from the

definition of stalking in all State stalking

statutes.

• About half of all stalking victims report

their stalking to the police. About a quarter of

stalking cases reported to the police result in

suspects being arrested. While there is some

evidence that antistalking laws have increased

reports to the police, more research is needed

to determine antistalking laws’ full effect on

reports to the police.

• About 12 percent of all stalking cases

result in criminal prosecution, and about a

quarter of female stalking victims and about a

tenth of male stalking victims obtain restraining orders against their stalkers. Of all victims

with restraining orders, 69 percent of the

women and 81 percent of the men said their

stalkers violated the order. More research is

needed on the effectiveness of formal and

informal justice system interventions in

stalking cases.

• Thirty percent of female stalking victims

and 20 percent of male stalking victims seek

psychological counseling as a result of their

victimization. Stalking victims are significantly

more likely than nonstalking victims to live in

fear for their personal safety and to carry

something to defend themselves. To better

meet the needs of stalking victims, the mental

health community should receive comprehensive training on appropriate treatment of

stalking victims.

• The average stalking case lasts 1.8 years.

Since nearly a fifth of all stalking victims move

to new locations to escape their stalkers, it is

important that address confidentiality

programs be made available to stalking victims.

Target audience: Criminal justice and public

health researchers and practitioners. Legislators, policymakers, and intervention planners

at all levels of government.
3

Research in Brief

stalkers to make a credible threat of

violence against victims, but it does

require victims to feel a high level of

fear (“fear of bodily harm”). Similarly, the definition of stalking used

in the NVAW Survey does not

require stalkers to make a credible

threat against victims, but it does

require victims to feel a high level of

fear (see “Survey Screening Questions,” page 17).

How much stalking is there?

In the NVAW Survey, stalking

victimization was measured in terms

of lifetime prevalence and annual

prevalence. Lifetime prevalence

refers to the percentage of persons

within a demographic group (e.g.,

male or female) who were stalked

sometime in their lifetime. Annual

prevalence refers to the percentage of

persons within a demographic group

who were stalked sometime in the 12

months preceding the survey.

Using a definition of stalking that

requires victims to feel a high level

of fear, the NVAW Survey found that

8 percent of women and 2 percent of

men in the United States have been

stalked at some time in their life.12

Based on U.S. Census estimates of

the number of women and men in the

country, one out of every 12 U.S.

women (8.2 million) has been stalked

at some time in her life, and one out

of every 45 U.S. men (2 million) has

been stalked at some time in his life

(see exhibit 1).13

Ninety percent of the stalking victims

identified by the survey were stalked

by just one person during their life.

Nine percent of female victims and 8

percent of male victims were stalked

by two different persons, and 1

percent of female victims and 2

percent of male victims were stalked

by three different persons.

The survey also found that 1 percent

of all women surveyed and 0.4

percent of all men surveyed were

stalked during the 12 months preceding the survey. These findings

equate to an estimated 1,006,970

women and an estimated 370,990

men who are stalked annually in the

United States (see exhibit 2).

The average annual estimates of

stalking victimization generated by

the survey are relatively high compared to the average lifetime estimates. Two factors account for this

finding. The first has to do with the

age of the population most at risk of

being stalked. The survey found that

74 percent of stalking victims are

between 18 and 39 years old. Since

men and women between 18 and 39

years comprise nearly half (47

percent) the adult population from

which the sample was drawn, a large

proportion of men and women in the

survey sample were at risk of being

stalked in the 12 months preceding

the interview. As the proportion of

the U.S. population aged 18–39

years declines, so should the number

of persons stalked annually. However, the lifetime estimates of stalking victimization should remain

relatively constant.

Another reason annual estimates of

stalking victimization are relatively

high compared to lifetime rates is that

stalking, by definition, involves

repeated and ongoing victimization.

Thus, some men and women are

stalked for months or years on end.

Because some men and women are

stalked from one year to the next, the

average annual estimates of stalking

Exhibit 1. Percentage and Estimated Number of Men and Women Stalked

in Lifetime

Persons Stalked in Lifetime

Group Percentagea Estimated Numberb

Men (N = 8,000) 2.2 2,040,460

Women (N = 8,000) 8.1 8,156,460

a. Differences between men and women are significant at ≤ .001.

b. Based on estimates of men and women aged 18 years and older, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current

Population Survey, 1995.

Exhibit 2. Percentage and Estimated Number of Men and Women Stalked

in Previous 12 Months

Persons Stalked in Previous 12 Months

Group Percentagea Estimated Numberb

Men (N = 8,000) 0.4 370,990

Women (N = 8,000) 1.0 1,006,970

a. Differences between men and women are significant at ≤ .001.

b. Based on estimates of men and women aged 18 years and older, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current

Population Survey, 1995.
Research in Brief

4

victimization cannot be added to

produce an estimate of the total

number of men and women who will be

stalked in two, three, or more years.

Thus, average annual rates of stalking

victimization will appear higher than

expected when compared to lifetime

rates of stalking victimization.

Comparison with previous

stalking estimates

Prior to this study, information on

stalking prevalence was limited to

guesses provided by mental health

professionals based on their work

with known stalkers. The most

frequently cited “guesstimates” of

stalking prevalence were made by

forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz, who

in 1992 reported that 5 percent of

U.S. women are stalked at some time

in their life and approximately

200,000 U.S. women are stalked

each year.14 Thus, the NVAW

Survey’s estimate that 8 percent of

U.S. women have been stalked at

some time in their life is 1.6 times

greater than Dietz’s guesstimate, and

the survey’s estimate that 1,006,970

U.S. women are stalked annually is

five times greater than Deitz’s

guesstimate.

How prevalent is stalking compared to other forms of violence

against women in the United

States? The NVAW Survey found

that 0.3 percent of all women surveyed experienced a completed or

attempted rape in the 12 months

preceding the survey, and 1.9

percent experienced a physical

assault in the 12 months preceding

the survey (see exhibit 3). Thus, in a

1-year period, women are three times

more likely to be stalked than raped,

but they are two times more likely to

be physically assaulted than stalked.

Stalking prevalence based on

broader definition. If a less

stringent definition of stalking is

used—one requiring victims to feel

only somewhat frightened or a little

frightened by their assailant’s behavior—stalking prevalence rates rise

dramatically. Specifically, the

lifetime stalking prevalence rate

increases from 8 percent to 12

percent for women and from 2 percent

to 4 percent for men; and the annual

stalking prevalence rate increases

from 1 percent to 6 percent for women

and from 0.4 percent to 1.5 percent

for men. Based on these higher

prevalence rates, an estimated 12.1

million U.S. women and 3.7 million

U.S. men are stalked at some time in

their life; and 6 million women and

1.4 million men are stalked annually

in the United States. These results

show how stalking prevalence varies

with the level of fear included in the

definition. A higher standard of fear

produces lower prevalence rates, and

a lower standard of fear produces

higher prevalence rates.

Stalking risk for racial and

ethnic minorities

Information from the NVAW Survey

presents a complex picture of stalking, race, and ethnicity. When data

on African-American, American

Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific

Islander, and mixed race women are

combined, there is no difference in

stalking prevalence between white

women and minority women: 8.2

percent of white women (see exhibit

4) and 8.2 percent of nonwhite women

(not shown) reported ever being

stalked in their lifetime. However, a

comparison of stalking prevalence

across specific racial and ethnic

groupings shows that American

Indian/Alaska Native women report

significantly more stalking victimization than women of other racial and

ethnic backgrounds (see exhibit 4).

This finding should be viewed with

caution, however, given the small

number of American Indian/Alaska

Native women in the sample. This

finding also underscores the need for

specificity when comparing prevalence rates among women of different

racial or ethnic backgrounds.

Since information on violence against

American Indian and Alaska Native

women is limited, it is difficult to

explain why they report more stalking victimization. A previous study

found that the overall homicide rates

for Native Americans were about two

times greater than U.S. national

rates.15 Thus, there is some evidence

that Native Americans are at signifiExhibit 3. Percentage of Men and Women Victimized in Previous 12

Months, by Type of Violence

Persons Victimized in Previous 12 Months (%)

Type of Men Women

Violence (N = 8,000) (N = 8,000)

Rape <0.1a 0.3

Physical assault 3.4 1.9

Stalking 0.4 1.0

Any of the above 3.9 3.0

a. Based on five or fewer cases.
5

Research in Brief

cantly greater risk of violence—fatal

and nonfatal—than other Americans.

How much of the variance in stalking

prevalence may be explained by

demographic, social, and environmental factors remains unclear and

requires further study. Moreover,

there may be significant differences

in stalking prevalence among women

of diverse American Indian tribes and

Alaska Native communities that

cannot be determined from the

survey, since data on all Native

Americans were combined.

There is some evidence that Asian and

Pacific Islander women are at significantly less risk of being stalked than

women of other racial and ethnic

backgrounds (see exhibit 4). Again,

however, given the small number of

Asian/Pacific Islander women in the

sample, this finding must be viewed

with caution. It has been suggested

that traditional Asian values emphasizing close family ties and harmony may

discourage Asian women from disclosing physical and emotional abuse by

intimate partners.16 Thus, the smaller

stalking prevalence rate found among

Asian/Pacific Islander women may be,

at least in part, an artifact of

underreporting. There may also be a

significant difference in stalking

prevalence between Asian women and

Pacific Islander women that cannot be

determined from the survey, since data

on these two groups were combined.

The survey found no significant difference in stalking prevalence among men

of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This finding must also be

viewed with caution given the sample’s

small number of male victims falling

into specific racial and ethnic groupings. A larger sample of male stalking

victims is needed to produce more

reliable information on the relative risk

of stalking among men of different

racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The survey found no significant

difference in stalking prevalence

among men and women of Hispanic

and non-Hispanic origin (see exhibit

5). Since previous studies comparing the prevalence of violence among

Hispanic and non-Hispanic women

have produced contradictory conclusions,17 these findings neither

confirm nor contradict earlier

findings.

Who stalks whom?

Though stalking is a gender-neutral

crime, women are the primary victims

of stalking and men are the primary

perpetrators. Seventy-eight percent of

the stalking victims identified by the

survey were women, and 22 percent

were men. Thus, four out of five

stalking victims are women. By

comparison, 94 percent of the stalkers

identified by female victims and 60

percent of the stalkers identified by

male victims were male. Overall, 87

percent of the stalkers identified by

victims were male.

Young adults are also the primary

targets of stalkers. Fifty-two percent of the stalking victims were

18–29 years old and 22 percent

were 30–39 years old when the

stalking started (see exhibit 6). On

average, victims were 28 years old

when the stalking started.

The survey confirms previous reports

that most victims know their stalker.18

Only 23 percent of female stalking

victims and 36 percent of male

stalking victims were stalked by

strangers. The survey also shows that

Exhibit 4. Percentage of Men and Women Stalked in Lifetime, by Race and

Ethnicity of Victim

Persons Stalked in Lifetime (%)

Asian/ American

African- Pacific Indian/ Mixed

Group Total White American Islander Alaska Native Race

Men (N=7,759) (N=6,424) (N=659) (N=165) (N=105) (N=406)

2.3 2.1 2.4 1.8a 4.8 3.9

Womenb (N=7,850) (N=6,452) (N=780) (N=133) (N=88) (N=397)

8.2 8.2 6.5 4.5 17.0 10.6

a. Based on five or fewer cases.

b. Differences between racial and ethnic groups are significant at ≤ .05.

Exhibit 5. Percentage of Men and Women Stalked in Lifetime, by Hispanic/

Non-Hispanic Origin of Victim

Persons Stalked in Lifetime (%)

Group Total Hispanica Non-Hispanic

Men (N=7,916) (N=581) (N=7,335)

2.2 3.3 2.1

Women (N=7,945) (N=628) (N=7,317)

8.1 7.6 8.2

a. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Research in Brief

6

women tend to be stalked by intimate

partners, defined as current or former

spouses, current or former cohabitants (of the same or opposite sex), or

current or former boyfriends or

girlfriends. Thirty-eight percent of

female stalking victims were stalked

by current or former husbands, 10

percent by current or former cohabiting partners, and 14 percent by

current or former dates or boyfriends.

Overall, 59 percent of female victims,

compared with 30 percent of male

victims, were stalked by some type of

intimate partner (see exhibit 7).

It has been reported previously that

when women are stalked by intimate

partners, the stalking typically occurs

after the woman attempts to leave the

relationship.19 To test this assumption, the NVAW Survey asked women

who had been stalked by former

husbands or partners when in the

relationship the stalking occurred.

Twenty-one percent of these victims

said the stalking occurred before the

relationship ended, 43 percent said it

occurred after the relationship ended,

and 36 percent said it occurred both

before and after the relationship

ended (see exhibit 8). Thus, contrary

to popular opinion, women are often

stalked by intimate partners while the

relationship is still intact.

The survey found that men tend to be

stalked by strangers and acquaintances

(see exhibit 7), 90 percent of whom

are male. It is unclear from the

survey data why men are stalked by

male strangers and male acquaintances. There is some evidence that

homosexual men are at greater risk of

being stalked than heterosexual men:

Stalking prevalence was significantly

greater among men who had ever

lived with a man as a couple compared with men who had never lived

with a man as a couple (see exhibit 9).

Thus, in some stalking cases involving male victims and stranger or

acquaintance perpetrators, the

perpetrator may be motivated by

hatred toward homosexuals, while in

others the perpetrator may be motivated by sexual attraction. It is also

possible that some men are stalked by

male strangers and male acquaintances in the context of inter- or intragroup gang rivalries. Clearly, more

research is needed to determine

under what circumstances men are

stalked by male strangers and male

acquaintances.

Although men tend to be stalked by

strangers and acquaintances, women

are at significantly greater risk of

Exhibit 6. Victim’s Age When First 

Stalkeda

a. N=797 male and female victims. Percentages 

do not total 100 due to rounding.

≥40 Years

15%

30–39 Years

22%

18–29 Years

52%

<18 Years

12%

Exhibit 7. Relationship Between Victim and Offender

a. Percentages exceed 100% because some victims had more than one stalker.

b. Differences between males and females are significant at ≤.05.

Male victims (N=179)

Spouse/

Ex-spouseb CohabitingPartner/

Ex-partner

Date/

Former Date

Relative Other

Than Spouse

Acquaintanceb Strangerb

Female victims (N=650)

0

10

20

30

40

Percentage of Casesa

13

38

9 10 10

14

2

4

34

19

36

23

Exhibit 8. Point in Intimate 

Relationship When Stalking 

of Womena Occurs

a. N=263 female victims.

 Both Before 

and After 

Relationship 

Ends

36%

After 

Relationship

Ends

43%

Before 

Relationship 

Ends

21%
7

Research in Brief

being stalked by strangers and

acquaintances than men. A comparison of stalking prevalence among

women and men by victim-offender

relationship shows that 1.8 percent

of all U.S. women, compared with 0.8

percent of all U.S. men, have been

stalked by strangers; and 1.6 percent

of all U.S. women, compared with 0.8

percent of all U.S. men, have been

stalked by acquaintances (see

exhibit 10).

How do stalkers harass and

terrorize?

When asked to describe specific

activities their stalkers engaged in to

harass and terrorize them, women

were significantly more likely than

men to report that their stalkers

followed them, spied on them, or

stood outside their home or place of

work or recreation (see exhibit 11).

Women were also significantly more

likely to report that their stalkers

made unsolicited phone calls. About

equal percentages of female and

male victims reported that their

stalkers sent them unwanted letters

or items, vandalized their property,

or killed or threatened to kill a

family pet (see exhibit 11).

How often do stalkers

threaten overtly?

Many State antistalking laws include

in their definition of stalking a

requirement that stalkers make an

overt threat of violence against their

victim.20 Survey findings suggest that

this requirement may be ill-advised.

By definition, stalking victims in this

survey were either very frightened of

their assailant’s behavior or feared

their assailant would seriously harm

or kill them or someone close to

them. Despite the high level of fear

required, the survey found that less

Exhibit 9. Percentage of Men Stalked in Lifetime, by Whether They Ever

Cohabited with a Man

Cohabitation Experience

Men Stalked/ Cohabited with a Man Never Cohabited with a Man

Not Stalked in (N=65) (N=7,935)

Lifetimea % %

Stalked 7.7b 2.2

Not stalked 92.3 97.8

a. Differences between men who “cohabited” and “never cohabited” are significant at < .01.

b. Based on five or fewer cases.

Exhibit 10. Percentage of Men and Women Stalked in Lifetime, by VictimOffender Relationship

Persons Stalked in Lifetime (%)

Victim-Offender Men Women

Relationship (N=8,000) (N=8,000)

Intimatea 0.6 4.8

Relative 0.1b 0.3

Acquaintancea 0.8 1.6

Strangera 0.8 1.8

a. Differences between men and women are significant at ≤ .05.

b. Based on five or fewer cases.

Exhibit 11. Stalking Activities Engaged in by Stalkers

a. Differences between males and females are significant at ≤.05.

b. Differences between males and females are significant at ≤.001.

c. Percentages exceed 100% because the question had multiple responses.

Followed, spied on, 

stood outside home, etc.a

Made unwanted 

phone callsb

Sent or left unwanted

letters, items

Vandalized property

Killed or threatened 

to kill family pet

Female Victims (N=625) Male Victims (N=168)

0 20 40 60 80 100

82

72

61

42

33

27

29

30

9

6

Percentage of Casesc
Research in Brief

8

than half the victims—both male and

female—were directly threatened by

their stalker (see exhibit 12). This

finding shows that stalkers do not

always threaten their victim verbally

or in writing; more often they engage

in a course of conduct that, taken in

context, causes a reasonable person

to feel fearful. The model antistalking code reflects this reality by

not including in its definition of

stalking a requirement that the

stalker make a credible threat of

violence against the victim.21

Why stalkers stalk their

victims

To generate information on motivations for stalking, the survey asked

victims why they thought they had

been stalked. Since stalking occurs

in a variety of situations and between

people who have various relationships, it is not surprising that responses to this question varied.

Based on victims’ perceptions of why

they were stalked, it appears that

much stalking is motivated by

stalkers’ desire to control, or instill

fear in, their victim (see exhibit 13).

The survey results dispel the myth

that most stalkers are psychotic or

delusional. Only 7 percent of the

victims said they were stalked

because their stalkers were mentally

ill or abusing drugs or alcohol.

Relationship between stalking

and other forms of violence

The National Violence Against Women

Survey provides compelling evidence

of the link between stalking and other

forms of violence in intimate relationships. Eighty-one percent of the

women who were stalked by a current

or former husband or cohabiting

partner were also physically assaulted

by the same partner, and 31 percent of

the women who were stalked by a

current or former husband or cohabiting partner were also sexually assaulted by the same partner. By

comparison, 20 percent of the women

who were ever married or ever lived

with a man were physically assaulted

by a current or former husband or

partner, and 5 percent of women who

were ever married or ever lived with a

man were sexually assaulted by a

current or former husband or partner.

Thus, husbands or partners who stalk

their partners are four times more

likely than husbands or partners in the

general population to physically

assault their partners, and they are six

times more likely than husbands and

partners in the general population to

sexually assault their partners.

The survey also provides compelling

evidence of the link between stalking

and controlling and emotionally

abusive behavior in intimate relationships. To provide a context for

violence occurring between intimate

partners, respondents to the survey

were asked a series of questions

about controlling and emotionally

abusive behavior they experienced at

the hands of their current or former

spouses or cohabiting partners. The

survey found that ex-husbands who

stalked (either before or after the

relationship ended) were significantly more likely than ex-husbands

who did not stalk to engage in

emotionally abusive and controlling

behavior toward their wife (see

exhibit 14 for details).

Exhibit 12. Percentage of Victims 

Who Were Overtly Threatened 

by Their Stalkers

0

Male Victims

(N=179)

Percentage

Female Victims

(N=651)

43 45

10

20

30

40

50

Exhibit 13. Victims' Perceptions of Why They Were Stalkeda

a. N=624 male and female victims.

Stalker wanted to control victim

Stalker wanted to keep victim

in the relationship

Stalker wanted to scare victim

Victim not sure why

Stalker was mentally ill or

abusing drugs or alcohol

Stalker wanted or liked the 

attention

Stalker wanted to catch victim

doing something

0 5 10

Percentage of Cases

15 20 25

21

20

16

12

7

5

1
9

Research in Brief

How often is stalking

reported to police?

Fifty-five percent of female victims

and 48 percent of male victims said

their stalking was reported to the

police. In most of these cases, the

victims made the report (see exhibit

15). The percentage of women

reporting stalking is identical to the

percentage of female victims reporting lone-offender violent crimes to

police during 1987–89, as measured

by the National Crime Victimization

Survey.22

Police responses to stalking cases

involving male victims and female

victims were virtually identical, with

two notable exceptions: Police were

significantly more likely to arrest or

detain a suspect in cases involving

female victims, and they were significantly more likely to refer female

victims to services (see exhibit 15).

There is some evidence that stalking

reports to the police by victims have

increased since passage of antistalking laws. According to information from the survey, stalking cases

occurring before 1990—the year

California passed the Nation’s first

antistalking law—were significantly

less likely to be reported to the police

than stalking cases occurring after

1995, the year all 50 States and

the District of Columbia had laws

proscribing stalking. There was no

significant difference, however, in the

number of arrests made in stalking

cases that occurred before 1990 and

those that occurred after 1995.

When asked why they chose not to

report their stalking to the police,

victims were most likely to state that

their stalking was not a police

matter, they thought the police would

not be able to do anything, or they

Exhibit 14. Percentage of Ex-Husbands Who Engaged in Emotionally

Abusive or Controlling Behavior, by Whether They Stalkeda

Ex-Husbands Who Ex-Husbands Who

Types of Emotionally Abusive/ Stalked (%) Did Not Stalk (%)

Controlling Behaviorb (N=166) (N=2,645)

Had a hard time seeing things

from her point of view 87.7 57.8

Was jealous or possessive 83.7 46.3

Tried to provoke arguments 90.3 45.3

Tried to limit her contact with family and friends 77.1 32.3

Insisted on knowing where she was at all times 80.7 34.4

Made her feel inadequate 85.5 40.9

Shouted or swore at her 88.0 44.5

Frightened her 92.2 33.1

Prevented her from knowing about or having

access to family income 59.6 20.8

Prevented her from working outside the home 30.7 13.0

Insisted on changing residences even when

she didn’t need or want to 33.9 11.9

a. Based on responses for first ex-husbands only.

b. Differences between ex-husbands who stalked and ex-husbands who did not stalk are significant

at ≤ .001.

Exhibit 15. Percentage and Characteristics of Stalking Cases Reported to

the Police, by Sex of Victim

Stalking Victims (%)

Reported to Police/Response Male Female Total

Was case reported to the police? (N=178) (N=641) (N=819)

Yes 47.7 54.6 53.1

No 52.3 45.4 46.9

Who reported the case?a (N=84) (N=350) (N=434)

Victim 75.0 84.0 82.3

Other 25.0 16.0 17.7

Police Responsea,b (N=84) (N=350) (N=434)

Took report 66.7 68.6 68.0

Arrested or detained perpetratorc 16.7 25.1 23.5

Referred to prosecutor or court 19.0 24.3 23.3

Referred to victim servicesc 8.3 15.1 13.8

Gave advice on self-protective measures 29.8 34.0 33.2

Did nothing 16.7 19.4 18.9

a. Based on responses from victims whose stalking was reported to the police.

b. Percentages exceed 100 percent because of multiple responses.

c. Differences between males and females are significant at ≤ .05.
Research in Brief

10

feared reprisals from their stalkers

(see exhibit 16).

Overall, stalking victims gave police a

50/50 approval rating (see exhibit 17).

Respondents who said their stalkers

were arrested were significantly more

likely to be satisfied with the way the

police handled their case than

respondents who said their stalkers

were not arrested (76 percent versus

42 percent).

Victims who thought the police

“should have done more” in their case

were asked to describe what specific

actions they thought the police should

have taken. Forty-two percent thought

the police should have put their

assailant in jail, 20 percent said the

police should have taken their situation more seriously, and 16 percent

said the police should have done more

to protect them (see exhibit 18).

How often are stalkers

criminally prosecuted?

Overall, 13 percent of female victims

and 9 percent of male victims reported that their stalkers were criminally prosecuted (see exhibit 19).

These figures increase to 24 percent

and 19 percent, respectively, when

only those cases with police reports

are considered. The stalkers were

charged with a wide variety of crimes,

including stalking, harassment,

menacing or threatening, vandalism,

trespassing, breaking and entering,

robbery, disorderly conduct, intimidation, and simple and aggravated

assault. Survey participants reported

that about half the stalkers (54

percent) who had criminal charges

filed against them were convicted of a

crime. Of those convicted, nearly

two-thirds (63 percent) were believed

to have been sent to jail or prison.

Obtaining protective or

restraining orders against

stalkers

Results from the survey also indicate

that female victims were significantly

more likely than male victims (28

percent and 10 percent) to obtain a

protective or restraining order

against their stalker (see exhibit 20).

This finding is expected since

women are significantly more likely

Exhibit 17. Victims' Satisfaction With the Policea

a. N = 435 male and female victims.

Victim was satisfied

with actions taken

by police

Victim thought situation

improved after

police report

Victim thought police

did everything

they could

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Percentage of Victims

50

54

51

Exhibit 16. Victims' Reasons for Not Reporting Stalking to Policea

a. N=348 male and female victims.

Not a police matter

Police couldn't do anything

Afraid of reprisal from stalker

Handled it myself

Reported to someone else

Police wouldn't believe me

Private, personal matter

Didn't want police, courts involved

Incident too minor

0

4

10

Percentage of Victims

5 15 20

17

20

16

12

7

7

5

6
11

Research in Brief

than men to be stalked by intimate

partners who have a history of being

violent toward them. Of those who

obtained restraining orders, 69

percent of the women and 81 percent

of the men said their stalker violated

the order.

What are psychological and

social consequences of

stalking?

The survey produced strong confirmation of the negative mental health

impact of stalking. About a third of

the women (30 percent) and a fifth of

the men (20 percent) said they sought

psychological counseling as a result

of their stalking victimization. In

addition, stalking victims were

significantly more likely than

nonstalking victims to be very concerned about their personal safety and

about being stalked, to carry something on their person to defend

themselves, and to think personal

safety for men and women had gotten

worse in recent years (see exhibit 21).

Over a quarter (26 percent) of the

stalking victims said their victimization caused them to lose time from

work. While the survey did not

query victims about why they lost

time from work, it can be assumed

they missed work for a variety of

reasons—to attend court hearings, to

meet with a psychologist or other

mental health professional, to avoid

contact with their assailant, and to

consult with an attorney. When

asked how many days of work they

lost, 7 percent of these victims said

they never returned to work. On

average, however, victims who lost

time from and returned to work

missed 11 days.

Stalking victims were asked whether

they took any measures (other than

reporting their victimization to the

police or obtaining a protective

order) to protect themselves from

their stalker. Fifty-six percent of the

women and 51 percent of the men

reported taking some type of selfprotective measure (see exhibit 22).

When and why does stalking

stop?

At the time of the interview, 92 percent

of the victims were no longer being

stalked. Based on information provided by these victims, about twothirds of all stalking cases last a year

or less, about a quarter last 2–5 years,

Exhibit 18. Victims' View of Other Actions Police Should Have Takena

a. N=201 male and female victims who thought police should have done more.

Arrested perpetrator

Taken complaint more seriously

Provided protection

Given perpetrator a warning

Been more supportive

Followed through with investigation

Made perpetrator leave

Percentage of Victims

0 10 20 30 40 50

20

42

16

13

14

12

5

Exhibit 19. Percentage and Outcomes of Criminal Prosecutions in Stalking

Cases, by Sex of Victim

Stalking Victims (%)

Outcome Male Female Total

Was perpetrator prosecuted? (N=178) (N=645) (N=823)

Yes 9.0 13.1 12.1

No 91.0 86.9 87.9

Was perpetrator convicted?a (N=15) (N=72) (N=87)

Yes 60.0 52.8 54.0

No 40.0 47.2 46.0

Was perpetrator sentenced to

jail or prison?b (N=9) (N=37) (N=46)

Yes 77.8 59.5 63.0

No 22.2c 40.5 37.0

a. Based on responses from victims whose perpetrator was prosecuted.

b. Based on responses from victims whose perpetrator was convicted.

c. Based on five or fewer sample cases.
Research in Brief

12

and about a tenth last more than 5

years (see exhibit 23). On average,

stalking cases last 1.8 years. However,

stalking cases involving intimates or

former intimates last, on average,

significantly longer than stalking cases

involving nonintimates (2.2 years and

1.1 years, respectively).

Victims who were no longer being

stalked at the time of interview were

asked why they thought their stalking had ceased; 19 percent said the

stalking stopped because they (the

victims) moved away (see exhibit

24). These findings suggest that

address confidentiality programs

may be an effective means of combating stalking. These programs

encourage victims who face continued pursuit and unusual safety risks

to develop a personal safety plan that

includes relocating as far from their

assailant as possible and securing a

confidential mailing address that

provides mail forwarding service but

does not reveal their new location.23

Some stalking cases are resolved when

the perpetrator gets a new love interest.

Eighteen percent of the victims said

the stalking stopped because their

assailant got a new spouse, partner, or

boyfriend/girlfriend.

It has been reported previously that

informal law enforcement interventions, such as detective contacts, can

be an effective means of deterring

stalkers, particularly in cases where

the victim and the suspect had some

prior relationship and where the

stalker is not suffering from mental

illness.24 Findings from the NVAW

Survey provide some support for this

theory. Victims were more likely to

credit informal, rather than formal,

justice system interventions for the

cessation of their stalking. For

example, 15 percent of victims said

their stalking stopped after their

assailants received a warning from

the police. By comparison, only 9

percent of victims said their stalking

ceased because their stalker was

arrested, 1 percent said their stalking stopped because their stalker

was convicted of a crime, and less

than 1 percent said the stalking

stopped because they obtained a

restraining order against their

Exhibit 20. Percentage and Outcomes of Protective Orders in Stalking

Cases, by Sex of Victim

Stalking Victims (%)

Outcome Male Female Total

Did victim obtain a protective or

restraining order?a (N=175) (N=597) (N=772)

Yes 9.7 28.0 23.8

No 90.3 72.0 76.2

Was the order violated?a,b (N=16) (N=166) (N=182)

Yes 81.3 68.7 69.8

No 18.7 31.3 30.2

a. Differences between males and females are significant at ≤ .05.

b. Based on responses from victims who obtained a restraining order.

Exhibit 21. Fear for Personal Safety Among Victims and Nonvictims 

of Stalking

a. Differences between victims and nonvictims are significant at ≤.01.

b. Differences between victims and nonvictims are significant at ≤.001.

Thinks personal safety

for men and women

has gotten worsea

Very concerned

about personal

safetyb

Very concerned

about being

stalkedb

Carries something

to defend selfb

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Percentage of Cases

62

68

42

24

30

10

45

29

Victims (N=826) Nonvictims (N=15,053)
13

Research in Brief

stalker. The fact that so few victims

credited formal justice system

interventions is not surprising given

the paucity of arrests, criminal

prosecutions, and restraining orders

in stalking cases.

Policy implications

Prior to this study, empirical data on

the prevalence and characteristics of

stalking in the general population

were virtually nonexistent. Therefore, information provided in this

report can help inform policy and

interventions directed at stalking.

Based on findings from the National

Violence Against Women Survey, the

Center for Policy Research offers the

following conclusions:

1. Stalking should be treated as

a significant social problem. The

survey found that stalking is much

more prevalent than previously

thought, affecting an estimated 1.4

million adults per year in the United

States. Since this figure does not

include cases involving victims

under the age of 18, nor victims who

are homeless or living in homes

Exhibit 22. Self-Protective Measures Undertaken by Stalking Victimsa

a. N=440 male and female victims who took self-protective measures.

Percentage of Victims

0 5 10 15 20 25

Took "extra" precautions

Enlisted help of family and friends

Got a gun

Changed address

Moved out of town

Avoided perpetrator

Talked to an attorney

Varied driving habits

Moved to a shelter

Stopped going to work, school, out

Got public records sealed

Hired a private investigator

22

18

17

11

11

7

5

5

4

4

1

1

Exhibit 23. Distribution of Cases by

Number of Years Stalking Lasteda

a. N=759 cases.

2–5

Years

23%

1 Year

16%

5+ 

Years

9%

< 1 Year

52%

Exhibit 24. Victims' Perception of Why Stalking Stoppeda

a. N=665 cases.

b. Based on 5 or fewer cases.

Percentage of Cases

19

18

10

9

15

7

6

4

4

3

1

Victim moved

Stalker got new love interest

Police warned stalker

Victim talked to stalker

Stalker was arrested

Stalker moved

Stalker got help

Victim got new love interest

Stalker died

It just stopped

Stalker was convicted of a crimeb

0 5 10 15 20
Research in Brief

14

without telephones, the estimate is

probably an undercount of the true

number of persons stalked each year.

Given the scope of the stalking

problem revealed by this survey, it is

imperative that stalking be treated as

a legitimate criminal justice problem

and public health concern.

2. Credible threat requirements

should be eliminated from

antistalking statutes. Some State

statutes include in their definition of

stalking a requirement that stalkers

make a credible threat of violence

against their victims. Since stalking

is often a “crime of deeds” rather

than a “crime of words,” this requirement makes it more difficult to

prosecute stalkers. Findings from

the survey show that stalkers often

do not threaten their victims verbally

or in writing but instead engage in a

course of conduct that, taken in

context, causes a reasonable person

to feel fearful. Despite being very

frightened or fearing bodily harm or

death, less than half of the stalking

victims identified by the survey were

directly threatened by their stalkers.

This finding supports the view of

many stalking experts that language

which might be construed as requiring an actual verbal or written threat

should be eliminated from all State

antistalking statutes.

3. Research on stalking should

move beyond “celebrity stalking”

and focus on acquaintance and

intimate partner stalking. Prior to

this study, most stalking research

focused on celebrity or political

stalking. Findings from the survey

show that the vast majority of stalking

cases involve people who know each

other, with fully half of all stalking

cases arising in the context of current

or former intimate relationships.

Therefore, future research should

focus on stalking occurring between

intimates and acquaintances.

4. The Nation’s criminal justice

community should receive comprehensive training on the particular safety needs of stalking

victims. The survey produced

dramatic confirmation of the link

between stalking and physical

violence in intimate relationships.

Fully 81 percent of the women who

were stalked by an intimate partner

(either before or after the relationship ended) were also physically

assaulted by that partner, and 31

percent were also sexually assaulted

by that partner. To help law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and

defense attorneys make appropriate

case processing and management

decisions, they must be made aware

of the very real safety risks faced by

these stalking victims.

5. More research must be

conducted on the effectiveness

of formal and informal law

enforcement interventions. The

survey found that 70 percent of all

restraining orders obtained against

stalkers were violated. The survey

also found that stalking victims were

more likely to credit the cessation of

their stalking to informal police

interventions, such as police warnings, than to formal justice system

interventions, such as arrests or

restraining orders. More research is

needed to determine under what

situations various law enforcement

interventions are most effective.

6. The mental health community should receive comprehensive training on the appropriate

treatment of stalking victims.

The survey found that about a

quarter of all stalking victims seek

psychological counseling as a result

of their victimization. In addition,

stalking victims are significantly

more likely than nonstalking victims

to be very fearful for their personal

safety, to carry something on their

person to protect themselves, and to

think personal safety for men and

women has declined in recent years.

To better meet the needs of stalking

victims, mental health professionals

need additional information about

the characteristics of stalking, the

mental health impact of stalking, and

the mental health needs of stalking

victims.

7. Stalking intervention strategies should include address

confidentiality programs. Survey

data indicate that about a fifth of all

stalking victims move to a new

location to escape their stalker.

Given these findings, it is important

that address confidentiality programs

be made available to stalking victims. These programs encourage

victims who face continued pursuit

and unusual safety risks to develop a

personal safety plan that includes

relocating as far from their offender

as possible and securing a confidential mailing address that provides

mail forwarding service without

revealing their new location. Because these measures focus on the

behavior of the victim rather than the

perpetrator, they may be perceived

as unfair and unjust; but they may be

the most effective way some victims

can elude their stalkers.
15

Research in Brief

The National Violence Against

Women Survey was conducted during

November 1995–May 1996 by

interviewers at Schulman, Ronca,

Bucuvalas, Inc. (SRBI), a national

survey research organization in New

York City, under the direction of Dr.

John Boyle. Survey design and data

analysis were conducted by the

authors of this report.

The sample was drawn as a national,

random-digit-dialing (RDD) sample of

telephone households in the United

States. The sample was stratified by

U.S. Census region to control for

differential response rates by region.

Within regional strata, a simple

random sample of working, residential, “hundreds banks” phone

numbers was drawn. A hundreds

bank is the first eight digits of any 10-

digit telephone number (e.g., 301–

608–38XX). A randomly generated

two-digit number was appended to

each randomly sampled hundreds

bank to produce the full 10-digit,

random-digit number. The randomdigit numbers were called by SRBI

interviewers from their central

telephone interviewing facility.

Nonworking and nonresidential

numbers were screened out. Once a

residential household was reached,

eligible adults in each household were

identified. In households with

multiple eligibles, the most-recentbirthday method was used to

systematically select the designated

respondent. The household participation rate was 72 percent for females

and 69 percent for males.25 Of the

eligible respondents who started the

interview, 97 percent of the women

and 98 percent of the men followed

through to completion.

Survey Methodology and Demographic Description of the Sample

Table 1. Comparison of Demographic Characteristics of Men and Women in

National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) and U.S. Population

Men (%)a Women (%)a

Demographic U.S. U.S.

Characteristics NVAWS Populationb NVAWS Populationb

Age (N=7,920) (N=92,748,000) (N=7,856) (N=100,679,000)

 18–24 11.4 13.0 9.8 11.9

 25–29 10.4 10.2 9.6 9.4

 30–39 25.4 23.8 24.6 21.9

 40–49 24.0 20.0 22.5 18.9

 50–59 13.5 13.0 14.4 12.9

 60–69 8.8 10.1 9.9 10.7

 70–79 5.2 7.0 6.8 8.9

 80+ 1.5 2.9 2.5 5.5

Race/Ethnicity (N=7,353) (N=93,282,000) (N=7,453) (N=101,117,000)

 White 87.4 84.8 86.6 83.7

 African-American 9.0 10.9 10.5 12.0

 American Indian/Alaska 1.4 0.7 1.2 0.7

 Native

 Asian/Pacific Islander 2.2 3.5 1.8 3.6

Hispanic Originc (N=7,916) (N=93,282,000) (N=7,945) (N=101,117,000)

 Hispanic 7.3 9.4 7.9 8.5

 Non-Hispanic 92.7 90.6 92.1 91.5

Marital Status (N=7,928) (N=92,007,000) (N=7,921) (N=99,588,000)

 Never married 21.2 26.8 15.5 19.4

 Currently married 66.8 62.7 62.7 59.2

 Divorced, separated 10.2 8.3 13.3 10.3

 Widowed 1.9 2.5 8.6 11.1

Educationd (N=7,010) (N=79,463,000) (N=7,068) (N=86,975,000)

 Less than high school 9.4 18.3 10.7 18.4

 High school and 29.3 31.9 34.6 35.7

 equivalent

 Any college 48.3 40.4 45.7 39.7

 Advanced degree 13.0 9.4 9.0 6.2

a. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.

b. Based on U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates, Current Population Survey, 1995.

c. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

d. For persons aged 25 years and older.
Research in Brief

16

A total of 8,000 women and 8,000 men

18 years and older were interviewed using

a computer-assisted interviewing system.

Only female interviewers were used to

interview women. For male respondents,

approximately half of the interviews were

conducted by female interviewers and

half by male interviewers. A Spanish

language translation was administered by

bilingual interviewers for Spanishspeaking respondents. A technical report

describing the survey methods in more

detail is forthcoming.*

The unweighted sample of the National

Violence Against Women Survey, when

compared with the Census Bureau’s

1995 Current Population Survey of adult

men and adult women, was remarkably

similar to the general population from

which it was drawn (see Table 1, page

15). Weighting was considered to

correct for possible biases introduced by

the fact that some households had

multiple phone lines. Since such

weighting had a negligible effect on the

demographic composition of the sample

(see Table 2), weights were not used in

this data analysis.

Precision of sample estimates. The

results presented in this report were

tested to determine whether observed

differences between groups (e.g., men/

women) were statistically significant.

Only comparisons that passed a

hypothesis test at the 95 percent

confidence level (p≤.05 ) were considered statistically significant and were

discussed in this report.

By its nature, a telephone survey is

limited to the population living in

households with telephones. Thus, the

survey does not reflect the experiences of

men and women living in phoneless

households, group facilities or institutions, or on the streets. The absence of

interviews with phoneless households

results in an underrepresentation of

certain demographic characteristics

typical of households that lack telephone

service (e.g., poor, headed by a single

adult, located in a rural or inner-city area,

renters). However, since approximately

94 percent of the American population

live in households with telephones, this

underrepresentation is small.

Sample weighting. A completed sample

in a social survey will be subject to certain

selection biases that may introduce

sampling errors, in addition to sampling

variability, into sample estimates. These

potential sources of sample bias may be

addressed by sample weighting. Unless

there is a considerable bias in the achieved

sample, however, many researchers prefer

to leave the achieved sample unweighted to

avoid the complexities of statistical tests

with weighted samples.

Survey Methodology and Demographic Description of the Sample (Continued)

Table 2. Comparison of Demographic Characteristics of Men and Women

in Weighted and Unweighted National Violence Against Women (NVAW)

Survey Sample

NVAW Survey Sample

Demographic Men (%)a Women (%)a

Characteristics Weightedb Unweighted Weightedb Unweighted

Age (N=7,920) (N=7,920) (N=7,856) (N=7,856)

 18–24 11.2 11.4 9.6 9.8

 25–29 10.5 10.4 9.8 9.6

 30–39 25.7 25.4 24.6 24.6

 40–49 23.6 24.0 22.1 22.5

 50–59 13.3 13.5 14.4 14.4

 60–69 8.9 8.8 10.0 9.9

 70–79 5.3 5.2 6.9 6.8

 80+ 1.5 1.5 2.5 2.5

Race/Ethnicity (N=7,353) (N=7,353) (N=7,453) (N=7,453)

 White 87.4 87.4 86.6 86.6

 African-American 9.0 9.0 10.5 10.5

 American Indian/Alaska 2.2 1.4 1.8 0.7

 Native

 Asian/Pacific Islander 1.4 2.2 1.2 1.8

Hispanic Originc (N=7,916) (N=7,916) (N=7,945) (N=7,945)

 Hispanic 7.4 7.3 8.0 7.9

 Non-Hispanic 92.6 92.7 92.0 92.1

a. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.

b. Weighted for number of telephone lines per household.

c. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

*To obtain copies of the technical report, call or write to the Center for Policy Research, 1570 Emerson St., Denver CO 80218, 303–837–1555.
17

Research in Brief

Notes

1. See, for example: Ellement, John,

“Police Arrest Boston Man, 18, for

Violating State Stalking Law,” Boston

Globe, May 28, 1992; Sullivan,

Kristin N., “Woman’s Case Illustrates

Need for State Stalking Law, Some

Say,” Houston Chronicle, April 19,

1992; Meyer, Josh, “Man Held in

Stalking of Pop Singer Janet Jackson,” Los Angeles Times, June 25,

1992; Lardner, George, “The Stalking of Kristin: The Law Made It Easy

for My Daughter’s Killer,” Washington Post, November 22, 1992;

Puente, Maria, “Legislators Tackling

the Terror of Stalking: But Some

Experts Say Measures are Vague,”

USA Today, July 21, 1992; Tharp,

Mike, “In the Mind of a Stalker,”

U.S. News and World Report, February 17, 1992.

2. Hunzeker, Donna, “Stalking

Laws,” State Legislative Report,

Denver, Col.: National Conference of

State Legislatures, 17(19):1–6,

October 1992.

3. National Criminal Justice Association, Project to Develop a Model

Anti-Stalking Code for States,

Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department

of Justice, National Institute of

Justice, October 1993.

4. See, for example: Dietz, Park, and

Martell, Daniell, “Threatening and

Otherwise Inappropriate Letters to

Members of the United States

Congress,” Journal of Forensic

Sciences, 36(5), 1991; Holmes,

Ronald, “Stalking in America: Types

and Methods of Criminal Stalkers,”

Journal of Contemporary Criminal

Justice, 9(4), December 1993; Zona,

M.A., et al., “Comparative Study of

Erotomanic and Obsessional Subjects in a Forensic Sample,” Journal

of Forensic Sciences, 38(4), July

1993; Rudden, M., et al., “Diagnosis

and Clinical Course of Erotomania

and Other Delusional Patients,”

American Journal of Psychiatry,

147(5):625–628, 1990.

5. See, for example: Bernstein,

Susan E., “Living Under Siege: Do

Stalking Laws Protect Domestic

Violence Victims?”, Cardoza Law

Review, 15(1993):525–529; Boychuk,

Katherine M., “Are Stalking Laws

Unconstitutionally Vague or Overbroad?” Northwestern University Law

Review, 88(2):769–802, 1994; Guy,

Robert A., Jr., “Nature and Constitutionality of Stalking Laws,”

Vanderbilt Law Review, 46(4):991–

1029, 1993; Gilligan, Mattlaw,

“Stalking the Stalker: Developing

New Laws to Thwart Those Who

Terrorize Others,” Georgia Law

Review, 27(1992):285–342; Harmon,

Brenda K., “Illinois’ Newly

Amended Stalking Law: Are All the

Problems Solved?” Southern Illinois

University Law Journal,

19(1994):165–198; Lingg, Richard

A., “Stopping Stalkers: A Critical

Examination of Anti-Stalking Legislation,” Saint John’s Law Review,

67(2):347–381, 1993; McAnaney,

Kathleen G., et al., “From Impudence to Crime: Anti-Stalking

Laws,” Notre Dame Law Review,

Because much confusion exists about

what it means to be stalked, the National

Violence Against Women Survey did not use

the word “stalking” in its screening

questions. Including the word would have

assumed that victimized persons knew how

to define stalking and perceived what

happened to them as stalking. Instead, the

survey used the following behaviorallyspecific questions to screen respondents for

stalking victimization:

Not including bill collectors, telephone

solicitors, or other sales people,

has anyone, male or female, ever...

• Followed or spied on you?

• Sent you unsolicited letters or written

correspondence?

• Made unsolicited phone calls to you?

• Stood outside your home, school, or

workplace?

• Showed up at places you were even

though he or she had no business

being there?

• Left unwanted items for you to find?

• Tried to communicate in other ways

against your will?

• Vandalized your property or

destroyed something you loved?

Respondents who answered yes to one

or more of these questions were asked

whether anyone had ever done any of

these things to them on more than one

occasion. Because stalking involves

repeated behaviors, only respondents

who said yes were considered possible

stalking victims. Respondents who

reported being victimized on more than

one occasion were subsequently asked

how frightened their assailant’s

behavior made them feel and whether

they feared their assailant would

seriously harm them or someone close

to them. Only respondents who were

very frightened or feared bodily harm

were counted as stalking victims.

Survey Screening Questions
Research in Brief

18

68(1993):819–909; Morin, K.S.,

“The Phenomenon of Stalking: Do

Existing State Statutes Provide

Adequate Protection?” San Diego

Justice Journal, 1(1):123–162, 1993;

Sohn, Ellen, “Antistalking Statutes:

Do They Actually Protect Victims?”

Criminal Law Bulletin, 30(3):203–

241, 1994; Strikis, Silvija, “Stopping

Stalking,” Note, Georgetown Law

Journal, 81(1993):2772–2813;

Thomas, Kenneth R., “How to Stop

the Stalker: State Anti-Stalking

Laws,” Criminal Law Bulletin,

29(2):124–136, 1992; Walker, Julie

Miles, “Anti-Stalking Legislation:

Does It Protect the Victim Without

Violating the Rights of the Accused?” Denver University of Law

Review, 71(2):273–302, 1993.

6. Lardner, George, The Stalking of

Kristin: A Father Investigates the

Murder of His Daughter, New York:

Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995; Orion,

Doreen, I Know You Really Love Me:

A Psychiatrist’s Journal of Erotomania, Stalking, and Obsessive Love,

New York: Macmillan, 1997.

7. Thomas, “How to Stop the

Stalker: State Anti-Stalking Laws”

(note 5).

8. Hunzeker, “Stalking Laws” (note

2).

9. National Institute of Justice,

Domestic Violence, Stalking, and

Antistalking Legislation: An Annual

Report to Congress under the Violence

Against Women Act, Washington,

D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice,

National Institute of Justice, April

1996.

10. Ibid.

11. National Criminal Justice

Association, Project to Develop a

Model Anti-Stalking Code for States

(note 3).

12. The findings of the survey, as in

any sample survey, are subject to

sample fluctuations or sampling

error. Using the sampling methods

described in this report (see “Survey

Methodology”), the maximum

sampling error at the 95 confidence

level for a sample of 8,000 is plus or

minus 1.1 percentage points if the

response distribution on a categorical variable is a 50/50 split.

13. According to U.S. Bureau of the

Census estimates, there were

100,697,000 women and 92,748,000

men aged 18 years and older residing in the United States in 1995.

14. While testimony provided at a

September 29, 1992, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on S.B.

2922 (Violence Against Women) is

generally cited as the source for

these estimates, the figures first

appeared in a USA Today article on

stalking (see Puente in note 1). The

statistics contained in the article

were attributed to “guesses” provided by Dr. Park Dietz, a Los

Angeles-based forensic psychiatrist,

presumably on the basis of his

research on a nonrepresentative

sample of known celebrity stalkers

(see Dietz in note 4).

15. Wallace, L.J.D., Calhoun, A.D.,

Powell, K.E., O’Neill, J., and James,

S.P., Homicide and Suicide Among

Native Americans, 1979–1992,

Violence Surveillance Summary

Series, No. 2, Atlanta, Ga.: Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention,

National Center for Injury Prevention

and Control, 1996.

16. National Research Council,

Understanding Violence Against

Women, Washington D.C.: National

Academy Press, 1996:40–41.

17. Sorenson, S.B., Stein, J.A.,

Siegel, J.M., Golding, J.M., and

Burnam, M.A., “The Prevalence of

Adult Sexual Assault: The Los

Angeles Epidemiologic Catchment

Area Project,” American Journal of

Epidemiology, 126:154–1164, 1987;

Sorenson, S.B., and Tells, C.A.,

“Self-Reports of Spousal Violence in

a Mexican American and a NonHispanic White Population, Violence

and Victims, 6(1991):3–16.

18. A survey of 90 Florida law

enforcement agencies reported that

in most stalking cases the victim

knew the offender. See Tucker, J.T.,

“The Effectiveness of Florida Stalking Statutes Section 784,048,”

Florida Law Review, 45(4):609–707,

1993.

19. See National Institute of Justice,

Domestic Violence, Stalking, and

Antistalking Legislation: 1 (note 9).

20. Ibid.

21. See National Criminal Justice

Association, Project to Develop a

Model Anti-Stalking Code for States

(note 3).

22. Bachman, Ronet, Violence

Against Women: A National Crime

Victimization Survey Report, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of

Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics,

January 1993.

23. See, for example, the Address

Confidentiality Program, Post Office

Box 69, Olympia, Washington,

98507-0069, (360) 753-2971.
19

Research in Brief

24. Williams, W.L., Lane, J.C.D.,

and Zona, M.A., “Stalking: Successful Intervention Strategies,” The

Police Chief, (February 1996):24–26;

and Zona, M.A., Sharma, K.K., and

Lane, J.C., “A Comparative Study of

Erotomanic and Obsessional Subjects in a Forensic Sample,” Journal

of Forensic Sciences, 38(4):894–903,

July 1993.

25. The participation rate for the

survey was determined using the

industry standard advocated by the

Council of Applied Survey Research

Organizations, which calculates the

rate as the number of completed

interviews, including those that are

screened out as ineligible, divided

by the total number of completed

interviews, screened-out interviews,

refusals, and terminated interviews.

Using this standard, the participation

rate for women was (8000 + 4829) ÷

(8000 + 4829 + 4608 + 352) = .72

and the participation rate for men

was (8005 + 8828) ÷ (8005 + 8828+

7552 + 65) = .69.

Patricia Tjaden, Ph.D., and Nancy

Thoennes, Ph.D., are with the

Center for Policy Research.

This research was supported by

grant number 93-IJ-CX-0012,

awarded to the the Denver-based

Center for Policy Research by the

National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

and sponsored jointly by NIJ and

the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention. The opinions and

conclusions expressed in this

The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Office of Justice Programs,

which also includes the Bureau of Justice

Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics,

the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for

Victims of Crime.

NCJ 169592

document are solely those of the

authors and do not necessarily

reflect the views of the funding

agencies. The authors thank Lois

Mock at the National Institute of

Justice and Linda Saltzman at the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention for their advice and

support in completing this project.

The authors also thank anonymous

reviewers who provided helpful

comments on an earlier draft of

this report.
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

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