U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

BJS

Special Report

SEPTEMBER 2012 NCJ 224527

An estimated 3.3 million persons age 18 or older 

were victims of stalking during a 12-month period. 

Stalking is defined as a course of conduct directed 

at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to 

feel fear. The data for this report are from the Supplemental 

Victimization Survey (SVS) conducted in 2006 as part of 

the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The SVS 

identified seven types of harassing or unwanted behaviors 

consistent with a course of conduct experienced by stalking 

victims. The survey classified individuals as stalking victims 

if they responded that they experienced at least one of these 

behaviors on at least two separate occasions. In addition, 

the individuals must have feared for their safety or that of a 

family member as a result of the course of conduct, or have 

experienced additional threatening behaviors that would 

cause a reasonable person to feel fear. 

The SVS measured the following stalking behaviors:

 making unwanted phone calls

 sending unsolicited or unwanted letters or e-mails

 following or spying on the victim

 showing up at places without a legitimate reason

 waiting at places for the victim

 leaving unwanted items, presents, or flowers

 posting information or spreading rumors about the victim 

on the internet, in a public place, or by word of mouth.

While individually these acts may not be criminal, 

collectively and repetitively these behaviors may cause a 

victim to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a family 

member. These behaviors constitute stalking for the 

purposes of this study. The federal government, all 50 states, 

the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories have enacted 

laws making stalking a criminal act, although the elements 

defining the act of stalking differ across states (see Stalking 

Laws on page 3).

The SVS also identified victims who experienced the 

behaviors associated with stalking but neither reported 

feeling fear as a result of such conduct nor experienced 

actions that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. 

This report characterizes such individuals as harassment 

victims. These instances of harassment might eventually 

have risen to the definitional requirement for stalking. 

However, at the time of the interview, the offender’s actions 

and victim’s responses did not rise to the threshold of 

stalking victimization as measured by the SVS.

Few national studies have measured the extent and nature 

of stalking in the United States. The Department of Justice 

Office on Violence Against Women funded the 2006 

SVS to enhance empirical knowledge about stalking (see 

Methodology). The SVS, which represents the largest study of 

stalking conducted to date, incorporated elements contained 

in federal and state laws to construct a working definition of 

stalking.

Shannan Catalano, Ph.D., BJS Statistician

HIGHLIGHTS

 During a 12-month period, an estimated 1.5% of persons 

age 18 or older were victims of stalking.

 The percentage of stalking victims was highest for 

individuals who were divorced or separated (3.3%), 

compared to those married, never married, or widowed.

 Nearly 7 in 10 stalking victims knew their offender in some 

capacity.

 A greater percentage of females were stalked than 

males; however, females and males were equally likely to 

experience harassment.

Stalking Victims in the United States - Revised

Errata: The original report, released in January 2009, was 

written by Katrina Baum, Ph.D., Shannan M. Catalano, Ph.D., 

and Michael R. Rand of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and 

Kristina Rose of the National Institute of Justice. See page 2 

for details about the revisions.
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 2

Table 1

Distribution of spam in unweighted prevalence estimates 

of stalking and harassment

All Stalking Harassment

Total 1,683 983 700

Not spam 1,513 946 567

Flagged as spam 170 37 133

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

Supplemental Victimization Survey, 2006.

Revisions to Stalking Victims in the 

United States initially released 

January 2009 

The report Stalking Victimization in the United States was 

initially released in January 2009. Recently, two errors in 

the analysis were identified: some responses regarding 

“repetitive and unsolicited communications” were incorrectly 

classified as stalking or harassment; and the population 

used to generate percents incorrectly used persons age 12 

or older instead of persons age 18 or older. Implementing 

these corrections resulted in revisions to point estimates of 

stalking and harassment victim counts and percentages for 

various demographic and victim characteristics. In addition, 

previous estimates were presented as victimization rates 

per 1,000 persons. The revised report presents stalking and 

harassment as a prevalence estimate. Prevalence is defined as 

the proportion of the population that experienced an event 

or condition within a specified period of time.

In the sample selection procedure for the 2009 report, 170 

cases where victims reported receiving “repetitive and 

unsolicited communications” were actually spam email, 

internet scams, and contacts from telemarketers or bill 

collectors. The survey respondents were instructed to exclude 

these types of incidents. A total of 133 cases were erroneously 

included in the harassment category and 37 cases were 

incorrectly included in the stalking victimization category 

(table 1). When these cases are excluded, the estimate of 

persons who experienced behaviors consistent with either 

stalking or harassment dropped to 5.3 million from 5.9 million.

In conjunction with the National Crime Victimization Survey, 

the Supplemental Victimization Survey (SVS), the data 

source for this report, was administered to persons age 18 or 

older. However, the estimates presented in the 2009 release 

were generated using populations for persons age 12 or 

older. The population base for the two age groups varies by 

demographic characteristics (table 2). Using populations 

for persons age 18 or older, the estimated percentage of the 

population experiencing stalking increased from 1.4% to 

1.5%. 

This revised report is not a comprehensive update of the 

original report. The first five tables and figures presented in 

the original report and the associated text have been revised, 

reflecting the new numerator and denominator and statistical 

testing. These tables cover the key stalking and harassment 

variables. Also, the Methodology and some appendix material 

received slight revision. The original report, tables and other 

related documents are no longer available on the BJS website 

or in print. The SVS dataset is available to users at the National 

Archive of Criminal Justice Data at www.icpsr.umich.edu/

icpsrweb/NACJD/.

Table 2

Populations for persons ages 12 or older and 18 or older 

by selected characteristics

Published 

12 or older

Revised 

18 or older

Overall 246,500,200 220,995,170

Sex

Male 120,068,420 107,014,170

Female 126,431,780 113,981,000

Race

White 200,874,080 181,858,650

Black 29,853,700 25,672,890

American Indian/Alaska Native 1,695,400 1,483,760

Asian/Pacific Islander 11,317,780 9,837,830

Two or more races 2,759,240 2,142,040

Hispanic origin

Hispanic 29,522,670 23,440,950

Non-Hispanic 215,025,170 195,655,390

Unknown / 1,898,830

Age

18–19 8,047,540 8,053,370

20–24 20,346,940 20,348,250

25–34 39,835,680 39,760,010

35–49 65,886,490 65,878,490

50–64 51,400,990 51,483,100

65 or older 35,515,670 35,471,950

Household income

$7,499 or less 8,418,570 7,702,700

$7,500–$14,999 14,562,850 13,236,960

$15,000–$24,999 22,428,240 20,221,710

$25,000–$34,999 22,862,680 20,373,140

$35,000–$49,999 30,345,140 27,910,030

$50,000–$74,999 37,956,910 34,011,190

$75,000 or more 56,633,800 50,709,700

Unknown / 46,829,750

Marital status

Never married 79,715,080 54,100,740

Married 123,633,560 124,145,550

Divorced or separated 26,334,200 26,704,680

Widowed 14,318,190 14,179,710

Unknown / 1,864,500

/Not reported in original report.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

Supplemental Victimization Survey, 2006.
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 3

This report presents information on stalking victims. 

Harassment is discussed where appropriate to provide fuller 

context. Persons interested in viewing the SVS data in its 

entirety may obtain the data file from the University of 

Michigan’s Archive of Criminal Justice Data at www.icpsr.

umich.edu/NACJD.

During a 12-month period, an estimated 1.5% of 

persons age 18 or older were a victim of stalking

An estimated 5.3 million U.S. residents age 18 or older 

experienced behaviors consistent with either stalking or 

harassment in the 12 months preceding the SVS interview 

(table 3). Of the 5.3 million victims, more than half 

experienced behavior that met the definition of stalking. 

Approximately 1.5% of persons age 18 or older experienced 

the repetitive behaviors associated with stalking in addition 

to feeling fear or experiencing behaviors that would cause 

a reasonable person to feel fear. About 0.9% of persons age 

18 or older were classified as victims of harassment who 

experienced a course of conduct consistent with stalking 

but who did not report feeling fear. Many victims of stalking 

reported being stalked over a period of months or years, 

and 11% of victims said they had been stalked for 5 years or 

more (figure 1).

FIGURE 1 

Duration of stalking and harassment victimization

0 10 20 30 40 50

Stalking

Harassment

Don't know

5 years or more

4 years

3 years

2 years

1 year

7-11 months

6 months or less

Percent

1.4 !

44.0

39.3

12.3

16.9

10.3

13.4

6.5

9.0

3.2

4.6

2.8

6.9

11.1

15.3

2.9

Note: All victims experienced at least one unwanted behavior in the year before 

the interview. See appendix table 2 for standard errors.

! Interpret data with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or the 

coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

Supplemental Victimization Survey, 2006.

Table 3

Prevalence of stalking and harassment over the 12 months prior to interview

Published number 

of victimizations

Revised number 

of victims

Published victimization 

rate per 1,000 persons

Revised percent 

of persons

All victims 5,857,030 5,305,730 23.8 2.4%

Stalking victims 3,424,100 3,300,570 13.9 1.5

Harassment victims 2,432,930 2,005,160 9.9 0.9

Note: The total population age 18 or older was 220,995,170 in 2006. See appendix table 1 for standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, Supplemental Victimization Survey, 2006.

Stalking Laws

While the federal government, all 50 states, the District 

of Columbia, and U.S. territories have enacted criminal 

laws to address stalking, the legal definition of stalking 

varies across jurisdictions. State laws vary regarding the 

element of victim fear and emotional distress, as well 

as the requisite intent of the stalker. Some state laws 

specify that the victim must have been frightened by the 

stalking, while others require only that the stalking would 

have caused a reasonable person to experience fear. In 

addition, states vary on what level of fear is required. Some 

state laws require prosecutors to establish fear of death 

or serious bodily harm, while others require only that 

prosecutors establish that the victim suffered emotional 

distress. Interstate stalking is defined by federal law 18 

U.S.C. § 2261A.
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 4

Unwanted phone calls and message were the most 

common type of stalking behavior experienced 

Stalking victims were about twice as likely to report 

experiencing following or spying on the victim, showing 

up at places without a legitimate reason, or waiting outside 

(or inside) places for the victim than individuals who were 

harassed. For example, 34% of stalking victims reported that 

the offender followed or spied on them, compared to 12% of 

harassment victims who reported experiencing this behavior 

(table 4). Thirty-two percent of stalking victims reported 

that the offenders showed up in places where they had no 

legitimate purpose being; approximately 12% of harassment 

victims reported this type of unwanted behavior. Also, 29% 

of stalking victims stated that the offender waited in places 

for them, while 10% of harassment victims reported this 

type of behavior.

Risk of victimization varied more for stalking than for 

harassment

A greater percentage of females experienced stalking than 

males (table 5). During the study period, 2.2% of females 

experienced at least one stalking victimization compared 

to 0.8% of males. Males and females were equally likely to 

experience harassment.

Age

The percentage of persons stalked diminished with age. 

Persons ages 18 to 19 and 20 to 24 experienced the highest 

prevalence of stalking victimization. About 2.9% per 1,000 

persons ages 18 to 19 were stalked during the study period, 

and 2.8% of persons ages 20 to 24 experienced this type of 

victimization.

Table 5

Characteristics of stalking and harassment victims

Percent of persons age 18 or older

Characteristics Population All Stalking Harassment

Overall 220,995,170 2.4% 1.5% 0.9%

Sex

Male 107,014,170 1.6% 0.8% 0.9%

Female 113,981,000 3.1 2.2 1.0

Race

White 181,858,650 2.4% 1.5% 0.9%

Black 25,672,890 2.4 1.4 1.1

American Indian/

 Alaska Native 1,483,760 3.8 2.2 ! 1.5 !

Asian/Pacific

 Islander 9,837,830 1.3 0.6 0.6

Two or more races 2,142,040 6.3 4.1 2.3

Hispanic origin

Hispanic 23,440,950 1.9% 1.3% 0.6%

Non-Hispanic 195,655,390 2.5 1.5 0.9

Unknown 1,898,830 2.8 1.2 ! 1.6 !

Age

18–19 8,053,370 4.5% 2.9% 1.6%

20–24 20,348,250 4.4 2.8 1.6

25–34 39,760,010 2.9 2.0 0.9

35–49 65,878,490 2.7 1.7 1.0

50–64 51,483,100 1.7 1.0 0.7

65 or older 35,471,950 0.8 0.3 0.4

Household income

$7,499 or less 7,702,700 4.8% 3.3% 1.5%

$7,500–$14,999 13,236,960 4.2 2.9 1.3

$15,000–$24,999 20,221,710 3.2 2.2 1.0

$25,000–$34,999 20,373,140 2.9 1.7 1.1

$35,000–$49,999 27,910,030 2.5 1.7 0.8

$50,000–$74,999 34,011,190 2.3 1.4 0.9

$75,000 or more 50,709,700 1.8 1.0 0.8

Unknown 46,829,750 1.6 0.9 0.7

Marital status

Never married 54,100,740 3.8% 2.4% 1.4%

Married 124,145,550 1.4 0.8 0.6

Divorced or 

separated 26,704,680 4.8 3.3 1.5

Widowed 14,179,710 1.4 0.7 0.7

Unknown 1,864,500 1.9 1.5 ! 0.4 !

Note: See appendix table 4 for standard errors.

! Interpret data with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or the 

coefficient of variation is greater than 50%. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

Supplemental Victimization Survey, 2006.

Table 4

Nature of stalking and harassment behaviors experienced 

by victims

Percent of victims

All Stalking Harassment

Unwanted phone calls and messages 63.5% 66.7% 58.3%

Unwanted letters and e-mail 28.4 30.7 24.7

Spreading rumors 31.2 36.3 22.9

Following or spying 26.1 34.4 12.5

Showing up at places 24.1 31.6 11.8

Waiting for victim 21.8 29.3 9.5

Leaving unwanted presents 9.8 12.5 5.5

Number of victims 5,305,730 3,300,570 2,005,160

Note: Detail sums to more than 100% because multiple responses were 

permitted. See appendix table 3 for standard errors.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

Supplemental Victimization Survey, 2006.
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 5

Race and Hispanic origin of victim

A lower percentage of Asians and Pacific Islander (0.6% of 

persons age 18 or older) experienced stalking than whites 

(1.5%), blacks (1.4%), and persons of two or more races 

(4.1%). Non-Hispanics and Hispanics were equally likely 

to experience stalking. During the study period, 1.5% of 

non-Hispanics experienced stalking. The percentage for 

Hispanics during this period was 1.3% for persons age 18 or 

older.

Marital status

The percentage of individuals who were divorced or 

separated and stalked was 3.3%—a higher percent than for 

persons of other marital statuses. A higher percentage of 

individuals who had never been married (2.4%) were stalked 

than persons who were married (0.8%) or widowed (0.7%).

Income

As with crime more generally, persons residing in 

households with higher incomes experienced a lower 

percentage of stalking than those from households with 

lower incomes. The percentage of individuals in households 

with an annual income of $7,499 or less and those with 

an income from $7,500 to $14,999 experienced about the 

same percentage of stalking. However, the percentage of 

individuals living in these households experienced a higher 

percentage of stalking than persons in households with an 

annual income at or above $25,000.

Relationship

Nine percent of victims were stalked by a stranger, and 

nearly 70% of all victims knew their offender in some 

capacity (table 6). Stalking victims most often identified the 

stalker as a former intimate (20%) or a friend, roommate, or 

neighbor (15%).

Table 6

Victim-offender relationship in stalking and harassment

Percent of victims

All Stalking Harassment

Total 100% 100% 100%

Known, intimate 24.1% 28.1% 17.4%

Current intimate 7.1 8.2 5.3

Spouse 3.8 5.2 1.4 !

Boy/girlfriend 3.3 3.0 3.9

Former intimate 17.0 20.0 12.1

Ex-spouse 6.2 7.8 3.6

Ex-boy/girlfriend 10.8 12.2 8.5

Known, other 39% 41.8% 34.4%

Friend/roommate/neighbor 14.6 15.2 13.5

Known from work or school 8.8 9.2 8.2

Acquaintance 8.2 9.1 6.8

Relative 7.4 8.3 5.9

Stranger 9.3% 9.0% 9.7%

Unknown 15.1% 14.2% 16.5%

Victim unable to identify 

 a single offender* 12.5% 6.8% 21.9%

Number of victims 5,305,730 3,300,570 2,005,160

Note: See appendix table 5 for standard errors.

! Interpret data with caution; estimate based on 10 or fewer sample cases, or the 

coefficient of variation is greater than 50%.

*Includes victims who could not identify a single offender who was most 

responsible. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 

Supplemental Victimization Survey, 2006.
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 6

Methodology

The Supplemental Victimization Survey (SVS) was 

administered as a supplement to the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics’ (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey 

(NCVS) during January through June, 2006. All NCVS 

respondents age 18 and older were eligible for the 

supplement. About 65,270 persons participated in the 

supplemental survey. The response rate for eligible 

individuals was 83%. 

The estimates presented in this report are annual prevalence 

estimates for persons age 18 or older victimized by stalking 

or other harassing behaviors during the 12 months prior to 

the interview. The interviews were conducted during the 

first 6 months of 2006; therefore, the majority of the stalking 

behaviors occurred during 2005. 

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and 

BJS convened a 1-day forum with experts in the area of 

stalking and violence against women. Researchers, law 

enforcement officials, prosecutors, and victim advocates 

comprised the expert group. Also included in the group 

were representatives from the Census Bureau, the federal 

agency that carries out survey development and data 

collection for BJS. The purpose of the 1-day forum was to 

discuss definitional and methodological issues surrounding 

the crime of stalking, as well as to determine where gaps in 

current information on stalking existed and how the SVS 

could further the research and knowledge regarding this 

crime.

Following this meeting, a small federal working group was 

formed with representatives from OVW, BJS, and the Census 

Bureau. The working group met weekly for approximately 

12 months until a satisfactory survey instrument was 

completed and approved. During the last phase of the survey 

development, the Census Bureau conducted cognitive 

interviews with stalking victims around the United States 

to test the instrument before administering the SVS in the 

field. Revisions were made to the instrument to incorporate 

findings from these interviews.

The name of the SVS intentionally does not indicate that 

the focus of the survey is stalking. This decision was made 

to avoid biasing the responses of individuals and the 

subsequent estimates. The respondent had to state that they 

experienced all of the following in order for a course of 

behavior to be counted as stalking victimization:

 At least one of the harassing behaviors in the stalking 

screener

 Harassing behavior more than one time on separate days

 At least one of multiple harassing contacts during the 

12 months prior to the interview

 Fear for their own or a family member’s safety or 

experience of another crime committed by the offender 

that would make a reasonable person fearful (see the 

Screener questions box).

Victims of harassment met all the requirements for stalking 

except those associated with induced fear or the commission 

of additional associated crimes. Harassing acts by bill 

collectors, telephone solicitors, or other sales people were 

excluded from the estimates of stalking and harassment. 

Standard error computations

Comparisons of percentages and counts made in this report 

were tested to determine if observed differences were 

statistically significant. Differences described as higher, 

lower, or different passed a test at the .05 level of statistical 

significance (95% confidence level). Differences described as 

somewhat, lightly, marginally, or some indication passed a 

test at the .10 level of statistical significance (90% confidence 

level). Caution is required when comparing estimates not 

explicitly discussed in the report.
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 7

Screener questions for stalking behaviors

Now, I would like to ask you some questions about any unwanted contacts or harassing behavior you may have 

experienced that frightened, concerned, angered, or annoyed you. Please include acts committed by strangers, casual 

acquaintances, friends, relatives, and even spouses and partners. I want to remind you that the information you provide is 

confidential.

1. Not including bill collectors, 

telephone solicitors, or other 

sales people, has anyone, male 

or female, EVER – frightened, 

concerned, angered, or annoyed 

you by ...

a. making unwanted phone calls to 

you or leaving messages?

b. sending unsolicited or unwanted 

letters, e-mails, or other forms 

of written correspondence or 

communication?

c. following you or spying on you?

d. waiting outside or inside places 

for you such as your home, school, 

workplace, or recreation place?

e. showing up at places where you 

were even though he or she had no 

business being there?

f. leaving unwanted items, presents, 

or flowers?

g. posting information or spreading 

rumors about you on the Internet, in 

a public place, or by word of mouth?

h. none

Actions that would cause a 

reasonable person to feel fear

1. In order to frighten or intimidate 

you, did this person attack or 

attempt to attack... 

a. a child

b. another family member

c. a friend or co-worker

d. a pet 

2. During the last twelve months, 

did this person attack or attempt to 

attack you by...

a. hitting, slapping, or knocking you 

down

b. choking or strangling you

c. raping or sexually assaulting you

d. attacking you with a weapon

e. chasing or dragging with a car

f. attacking you in some other way

3. Other than the attacks or 

attempted attacks you just told me 

about, during the last 12 months, 

did this person threaten to...

a. kill you

b. rape or sexually assault you

c. harm you with a weapon

d. hit, slap, or harm you in some other 

way

e. harm or kidnap a child

f. harm another family member

g. harm a friend or co-worker

h. harm a pet

i. harm or kill himself/herself

4. What were you most afraid of 

happening as these unwanted 

contacts or behaviors were 

occurring? 

a. death

b. physical/bodily harm

c. harm or kidnap respondent’s child

d. harm current partner/boyfriend/

girlfriend

e. harm other family members

f. don’t know what would happen

Questions used to measure 

fear

1. How did the behavior of (this 

person/these persons) make 

you feel when it FIRST started? 

Anything else?

a. anxious/concerned

b. annoyed/angry

c. frightened

d. depressed

e. helpless

f. sick

g. suicidal

h. some other way–specify

2. How did you feel as the behavior 

progressed? Anything else?

a. no change in feelings

b. anxious/concerned

c. annoyed/angry

d. frightened

e. depressed

f. helpless

g. sick

h. suicidal

i. some other way–specify
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 8

Appendix table 1

Standard errors for table 3: Prevalence of stalking and harassment over the 12 months prior to interview

Published number 

of victimizations

Revised number 

of victims

Published victimzation 

rate per 1,000 persons

Revised percent 

of persons

All victims 240,740 226,660 1.0 0.1

Stalking victims 173,320 169,450 0.7 0.1

Harassment victims 140,510 124,810 0.6 0.1

Appendix table 2

Standard errors for figure 1: Duration of stalking and 

harassment victimization

Percent of victims

All Stalking Harassment

6 months or less 1.7% 2.1% 2.6%

7–11 months 1.2 1.5 1.6

1 year 1.1 1.4 1.5

2 years 0.9 1.1 1.2

3 years 0.6 0.8 0.8

4 years 0.4 0.6 0.5

5 years or more 0.9 1.2 1.2

Don’t know 0.8 0.6 1.8

Number of victims 226,660 169,450 124,810

~Not applicable.

Appendix table 3

Standard errors for table 4: Nature of stalking and 

harassment behaviors experienced by victims

Percent of victims

All Stalking Harassment

Unwanted phone calls and messages 1.8% 2.1% 2.6%

Unwanted letters and e-mail 1.6 1.9 2.2

Spreading rumors 1.6 2.0 2.1

Following or spying 1.5 2.0 1.6

Showing up at places 1.5 2.0 1.6

Waiting for victim 1.4 1.9 1.4

Leaving unwanted presents 1.0 1.3 1.1

Number of victims 226,660 169,450 124,810

Appendix table 4

Standard errors for table 5: Characteristics of stalking and 

harassment victims

Percent of persons age 18 or older

All Stalking Harassment

Overall 0.1 0.1 0.1

Sex

Male 0.1 0.1 0.1

Female 0.2 0.1 0.1

Race

White 0.1 0.1 0.1

Black 0.2 0.2 0.1

American Indian/Alaska Native 1.0 0.8 0.6

Asian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.2 0.2

Two or more races 1.1 0.9 0.7

Hispanic origin

Hispanic 0.2 0.2 0.1

Non-Hispanic 0.1 0.1 0.1

Unknown 0.8 0.5 0.6

Age

18–19 0.5 0.4 0.3

20–24 0.4 0.3 0.2

25–34 0.2 0.2 0.1

35–49 0.2 0.1 0.1

50–64 0.1 0.1 0.1

65 or older 0.1 0.1 0.1

Household income

$7,499 or less 0.6 0.5 0.3

$7,500– $14,999 0.4 0.3 0.2

$15,000– $24,999 0.3 0.2 0.2

$25,000–$34,999 0.3 0.2 0.2

$35,000–$49,999 0.2 0.2 0.1

$50,000–$74,999 0.2 0.2 0.1

$75,000 or more 0.2 0.1 0.1

Unknown 0.1 0.1 0.1

Marital status

Never married 0.2 0.2 0.1

Married 0.1 0.1 0.1

Divorced or separated 0.3 0.3 0.2

Widowed 0.2 0.1 0.2

Unknown 0.6 0.6 0.3
STALKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES |SEPTEMBER 2012 9

Appendix table 5

Standard errors for table 6: Victim-offender relationship in 

stalking and harassment

Percent of victims

All Stalking Harassment

Total ~ ~ ~

Known, intimate 1.5% 1.9% 1.9%

Current intimate 0.8 1.1 1.1

Spouse 0.6 0.8 0.5

Boy/girlfriend 0.5 0.6 0.9

Former intimate 1.3 1.6 1.6

Ex-spouse 0.8 1.0 0.9

Ex-boy/girlfriend 1.0 1.3 1.3

Known, other 1.7 2.1 2.5

Friend/roommate/neighbor 1.2 1.4 1.7

Known from work or school 0.9 1.1 1.3

Acquaintance 0.9 1.1 1.2

Relative 0.8 1.1 1.1

Stranger 0.9 1.1 1.4

Unknown 1.2 1.4 1.9

Victim unable to identify 

 a single offender 1.1 1.0 2.1

Number of victims 226,660 169,450 124,810

~Not applicable.
Office of Justice Programs

Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods

www.ojp.usdoj.gov

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the 

U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is the director.

This report was revised by Shannan Catalano, Ph.D., and Jennifer L. 

Truman verified the report. The original report, released in January 

2009, was written by Katrina Baum, Ph.D., Shannan Catalano, Ph.D., and 

Michael Rand, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Kristina Rose, National 

Institute of Justice . 

Catherine Bird and Jill Thomas edited the report and Barbara Quinn 

produced the report under the supervision of Doris J. James.

September 2012, NCJ 224527