Stalking

Stalking is a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact, or any other course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.

Stalking is a controversial crime because a conviction does not require any physical harm. The anti-stalking laws represent an expansion of criminal law into areas traditionally governed by tort law.

Definition and types

Stalking is unwanted or obsessive attention by an individual or group towards another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term stalking is used with some differing definitions in psychiatry and psychology, as well as in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal offense.

Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking is the use of computers or other electronic technology to facilitate stalking. In Davis (2001), Lucks identified a separate category of stalkers who instead of a terrestrial means, prefer to perpetrate crimes against their targeted victims through electronic and online means.

Epidemiology

Stalking is a criminal behavior that affects 1.4 million individuals each year in the United States. The majority of victims are women, and most stalkers are male.

Laws on stalking

Stalking is a controversial crime because a conviction does not require any physical harm. The anti-stalking laws represent an expansion of criminal law into areas traditionally governed by tort law.

See also

• Harassment
• Cyberstalking
• Obsessive love
• Paranoia
• Psychopathy
• Sociopathy

References

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