Stalking is a course of conduct directed at a person that would cause that person to feel fear.
According to the CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (2011)
, 7.5 million people are stalked in one year in the United States, 15% of women and 6% of men have experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime. The majority of stalking victims are stalked by someone they know, by a current or former intimate partner.
Some common characteristics of a stalker are acting jealous, having narcissistic tendencies, obsessive compulsive behaviors, falls instantly in “love,” needs to have control over others, socially awkward. Views himself/herself as a victim of society, they are unable to take “no” for an answer, they can be deceptive, will often change between rage and “love,” and have difficulty distinguishing between reality and fiction. A stalker can be above average intelligence but unable to cope with rejection.
Behaviors of stalkers can range from repeated non-threatening mail, e-mails, texts and phone calls to direct or implied threats to physically attacking the victim. It is important that when you are working with law enforcement that you save voicemail messages and digital messages from the stalker and to document any encounters you have, Write down, the date, the time, and what occurred.
In conclusion, if you believe you have a stalker contact a domestic violence shelter and ask for tools to develop a safety plan.
Peggy
Jackson County Sexual Assault Advocate