3 in 4 stalking victims are stalked by someone they know.

30% of stalking victims are stalked by a current or former intimate partner.

10% of stalking victims are stalked by a stranger.

Persons aged 18-24 years experience the highest rate of stalking.

11% of stalking victims have been stalked for 5 years or more.

46% of stalking victims experience at least one unwanted contact per week.

1 in 4 victims report being stalked through the use of some form of technology (such as e-mail or instant messaging).

10% of victims report being monitored with global positioning systems (GPS), and 8% report being monitored through video or digital cameras, or listening devices.

2/3 of stalkers pursue their victims at least once per week, many daily, using more than one method.

78% of stalkers use more than one means of approach.

Weapons are used to harm or threaten victims in 1 out of 5 cases.

Almost 1/3 of stalkers have stalked before.

Intimate partner stalkers frequently approach their targets, and their behaviors escalate quickly.

[Kris Mohandie et al.,"The RECON Typology of Stalking: Reliability and Validity Based upon a Large Sample of North American Stalkers,"

Journal of Forensic Sciences, 51, no. 1 (2006).]

76% of intimate partner femicide victims have been stalked by their intimate partner.

67% had been physically abused by their intimate partner.

89% of femicide victims who had been physically assaulted had also been stalked in the 12 months before their murder.

79% of abused femicide victims reported being stalked during the same period that they were abused.

54% of femicide victims reported stalking to police before they were killed by their stalkers.

[Katrina Baum et al., "Stalking Victimization in the United States," (Washington, DC:BJS, 2009).]

46% of stalking victims fear not knowing what will happen next. [Baum et al., (2009). "Stalking Victimization in the United States." BJS.]

29% of stalking victims fear the stalking will never stop. [Baum et al.]

1 in 8 employed stalking victims lose time from work as a result of their victimization and more than half lose 5 days of work or more. [Baum et al.]

1 in 7 stalking victims move as a result of their victimization. [Baum et al.]

The prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression is much higher among stalking victims than the general population, especially if the stalking involves being followed or having one’s property destroyed. [Eric Blauuw et al., "The Toll of Stalking,"

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17, no. 1 (2002):50-63.]

[Judith McFarlane et al., "Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide,"

Homicide Studies 3, no. 4 (1999).]

Stalking is a crime under the laws of 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Territories, and the Federal government.

Less than 1/3 of states classify stalking as a felony upon first offense.

More than 1/2 of states classify stalking as a felony upon second or subsequent offense or when the crime involves aggrevating factors.

Aggravating factors may include: possession of a deadly weapon, violation of a court order or condition of probation/parole, victim under 16 years, or same victim as prior occasions.

For a compilation of state, tribal, and federal laws visit

www.ncvc.org/src.

Last updated June 2009

The Stalking Resource Center (SRC) works to raise national awareness of stalking and to encourage the development and implementation of multidisciplinary responses to stalking in local communities across the country. The SRC provides training, technical assistance, and resource materials for professionals working with and responding to stalking victims so that communities are more aware of and better equipped to respond to the crime of stalking.

src@ncvc.org.

This document may be reproduced only in its entirety. Any alterations must be approved by the Stalking Resource Center.

This document was developed under grant number 2008-TA-AX-K017 from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) of the U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions and views expressed in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Office on Violence Against Women of the U.S. Department of Justice. For more information on the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women visit http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov.

• •• •• •• • • • • • • • • •••• • •• • • • • • •

• Damaged property when angry (thrown objects, punched walls, kicked doors, etc.).
• Pushed, slapped, bitten kicked or choked you.
• Abandoned you in a dangerous or unfamiliar place.
• Scared you by driving recklessly.
• Used a weapon to threaten or hurt you.
• Forced you to leave your home.
• Trapped you in your home or kept you from leaving.
• Prevented you from calling police or seeking medical attention.
• Hurt your children.
• Used physical force in a sexual situation.

There is help and there is hope! Contact your local Victims Assistance Program.  To find your local help office, contact your local law enforcement department or court house.

• Will not allow you access to your bank account.
• Never lets you have your own money.
• Controls all finances in the relationship.

There is help and there is hope! Contact your local Victims Assistance Program.  To find one in your area, contact your local law enforcement or court house.

• Calls you names, insults you or continually criticizes you.
• Does not trust you and acts jealous or possessive.
• Tries to isolate you from family or friends.
• Monitors where you go, who you call and who you spend time with.
• Does not want you to work.
• Controls finances or refuses to share money.
• Punishes you by withholding affection.
• Expects you to ask permission.
• Threatens to hurt you, the children, your family or pets.
• Humiliates you in any way.

If this is happening to you, there is help and there is hope!

Contact your local victims assistance program.  This can usually be found through your local police or court house.

•    If the batterer holds a prominent position in the community, the victim may doubt her ability to make herself heard or believed.
•    If the batterer is the primary wage earner, the victim may question her ability to provide for herself and her children.
•    The victim may still love the batterer; if she has children, she may have concerns about separating them from their father and raising them alone.
•    The batterer may blame the abuse on substance abuse issues or job stress, leading the victim to believe that if these problems can be solved, the domestic violence will end.
•    The victim may fear losing custody of her children— In 70% of the cases, a father who requests some form of custody, is successful.
•    The victim may believe it is in the children’s best interests to live in a two-parent home.  Victims may be without transportation to access child care or a job if they leave.
•    Batterers are capable of manipulating children to plead “just let Daddy come home!”
•    The victim may be without financial resources if she leaves, and may not have marketable job skills.
•    Batterers may deny the victim access to money or financial records; batterers may also prohibit victims from working or may interfere with victims’ attempts to maintain a job by refusing to allow victims to go to job interviews or by harassing victims at their workplace.
•    Family members may think there is no excuse for leaving a marriage or may have been deceived by the batterer’s public charm or charisma.
•    Religious beliefs may lead victims to think they must tolerate the abuse to adhere to their faith.
•    Cultural differences make her feel the “system” is biased against her ethnic or racial group.
•    A previous history of abuse with another partner may lead the victim to believe, “See, this is what you drive your men to do!”
•    Either the victim’s or the batterer’s substance abuse or alcoholism may lead the victim to fear her children will be removed if she seeks help.
•    The victim knows her batterer, and may have good reason to fear he will follow through on his threats against her or her children if she leaves. A battered woman is 75% more likely to be murdered when she flees or has fled than when she stays.
•    If the victim grew up in an abusive household, low self-esteem or the belief that her experiences are the norm.  The victim may be unaware that abuse is a criminal offense.
•    If the victim has had prior negative experiences with police or the court system, she may be skeptical of its ability or willingness to offer assistance.
•    Physical challenges or disabilities may make it more difficult for the victim to access services and can also compound feelings of isolation.  Mentally retarded or developmentally delayed individuals are particularly vulnerable to manipulation by a batterer and are more dependent on him for basic survival.
•    Elderly victims may be more dependent on the batterer for care and may fear being placed in a nursing home if they leave the batterer.
•    Medical problems may cause the victim to stay with the batterer to keep insurance coverage.
•    A victim may feel there is literally no place to go—no affordable housing, no shelter that can accommodate her and her children. Batterers often isolate victims from friends and family.
•    Any number of special circumstances can affect a victim’s willingness to leave, including spouses of those in the military, spouses of law enforcement officers, homosexuality, previously incarcerated victims on parole, illiterate victims, and “illegal residents.”
Adapted from Sarah M. Buel, “Fifty Obstacles to Leaving, Why Abuse Victims Stay,”
The Colorado Lawyer vol. 28, no. 10 (Oct. 1999), pp. 19-28.

Domestic Violence – Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.

Sexual Assault – Sexual assault is defined as any sexual act forced upon a person with-out their consent.

Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economical action or threats of actions that influence another person.  This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone.

Domestic Violence or a Sexual Assault can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender.  It can happen to couples who are married, living together or who are dating.  They can also affect people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.

If you are in an abusive relationship:

• Collect important documents for you and your children.
• Put aside some emergency cash, if possible.
• Call 911 for a shelter near you
• If you are in the Northern Indiana area, call 574-936-7233

*IMPORTANT*  

If you are in fear for your life, get out immediately and call 911

If you have been Sexually Assaulted:

• Call 911
• Ask for a Sexual Assault Advocate upon arriving at the Emergency Room