Motives
Many stalking cases come out of
previous relationships, and are conducted by people who are
otherwise considered "normal". A sizable minority of stalking
cases, typically the more severe and lengthy ones, are sometimes
done out of a
pathological
obsession
or derangement. Stalking is often a form of
psychological abuse.
Stalking may involve the intent to
acquire private information or objects. Common victims of
stalking include:
- ex-husbands/wives
- ex-boyfriends/girlfriends
(somebody stalking an ex-lover whom they want back, or even
a present lover of an ex-lover, or other cases of
unrequited love)
- people in highly visible or social
professions, such as teachers,
counselors,
doctors and celebrities (a
fan
stalking a
celebrity,
or public figure)
- prominent
dissidents,
political or otherwise
- whistleblowers, activists, revenge
for hire
According to the National Center For
The Victims Of Crime, 1 out of every 12 women will be stalked
during her lifetime. 1 out of 45 men will be stalked during his
lifetime. Over one million women and nearly 380,000 men are
stalked annually. Exactly like any other crime or clinical
disorder, stalking exists on a continuum of severity. The
stalking may be so subtle that the victim may not even aware
that it is happening, or the perpetrator may have no malicious
intent. They may even have a sincere belief that the victim
would like them, or have a desire to help the victim. Most cases
of stalking do not even rise to extreme levels of violence or
harassment.
[1]
Many other stalking cases are not
sexually motivated at all. It must be recalled that the essence
of stalking is, besides as a means to obtain private information
about someone else, sometimes a way of inflicting menace.
This is a tactic commonly employed by
underworld organizations
against their enemies, and many unscrupulous
debt-collection agencies
employ underworld-associated people to use this capability to
their advantage, often victimizing the innocent.
Governments, particularly authoritarian
ones, can also employ stalking as an obvious form of
surveillance
against
criminals
and people whom they perceive as enemies of the state. This
tactic is often abused to repress
dissent
and opposition. It is not uncommon for the
secret police
to have an
informant
or a number of informants follow suspected dissidents and report
on their activities. (See also
police state.)
Mullen et al (2000) identify six types
of stalkers:
Rejection stalkers: pursue their
victims in order to reverse, correct or avenge a rejection (e.g.
divorce, separation, termination).
Resentful stalkers: pursue a
vendetta because of a sense of grievance against the victims -
motivated mainly by the desire to frighten and distress the
victim.
Intimacy seekers: feel
mistreated and hope to either resurrect a failed relationships
or compensate by seeking revenge. Any attention is better than
none.
Eroto-manic stalker: fantasize
and feel ‘loved’ by a celebrity or of a higher social status -
stalking establishes an intimate relationship with the victim.
Incompetent suitor: despite poor
social/courting skills, possess a sense of entitlement to an
intimate relationship with those who have attracted their
amorous interest.
Predatory stalker: spy on the
victim in to prepare and plan an attack - usually sexual – on
the victim.
Laws on stalking
The laws against stalking in different
jurisdictions
vary, and so do the definitions. Some make the act
illegal
as it stands, while others do only if the stalking becomes
threatening or endangers the receiving end. The first law to
criminalize stalking in developed countries is the one in
California,
enacted in
1990.
Within seven years thereafter, every state in the
United States
and some other common-law jurisdictions followed suit to create
the crime of stalking, perhaps under different names such as
criminal harassment or criminal menace. In
England and Wales,
liability may arise in the event that the victim suffers either
mental or physical harm as a result of being stalked (see
R. v. Constanza).
Many states in the US also recognize
stalking as grounds for issuance of a civil restraining order.
Since this requires a lower burden of proof than a criminal
charge, laws recognizing non-criminal allegations of stalking
suffer the same risk of abuse seen with false
allegations of domestic violence.
In
2000,
Japan
enacted a national law to combat this behavior. However, the
nature of the acts of stalking can be viewed as acts
"interfering the
tranquility
of others' lives", and are prohibited under petty offence laws
in
China,
made in
1987
(replaced by a new law, but the substance is preserved).
Stalking, as in the context of
organized crimes
suppression, is expressly forbidden under
Macau's
laws.
Slang meanings of "stalk"[2][3]
are often used imprecisely without the malicious sense often
associated with stalking.
Effects of Stalking
Potential effects of stalking on a
victim's mental and emotional health include:
Potential Effects of Stalking on a
Victim’s Physiological Health:
(see
Copyrights
for details).
