Stalking: Types, Victims, and Laws in the United States

Introduction to Stalking

Stalking may be defined as any sort of unwanted contact a person — called the stalker — makes on an intended victim, which could directly or indirectly cause one or more of the following: fear of death, criminal sexual contact, assault, kidnapping, injury, or damage to property. Nearly all stalkers are afflicted with some form of mental or emotional problem. A stalker will travel any distance — across a town, across the country, or even across continents — to pursue the victim. A normal person will not continue to pursue someone in the face of rejection. Stalkers can be classified into three major groups, irrespective of the severity of the mental disorder involved. The three categories are Simple Obsession, Love Obsession, and Other (Forms of Stalking).

Classifications of Stalkers

A Simple Obsession stalker would have had a previous intimate relationship with the victim. In many cases the victim would have tried to terminate the relationship, but the stalker would have refused to accept that. These stalkers are likely to have personality disorders, which may include emotional immaturity, extreme jealousy, a sense of insecurity coupled with low self-esteem, and frequently a feeling of powerlessness outside the relationship. Such a stalker aims at rejuvenating the lost relationship, driven by the belief that they cannot survive without that specific person. This class of stalker is likely to be domineering and abusive toward partners during the relationship, using control as a way to bolster their low self-esteem. This control provides the stalker with a sense of power they cannot find elsewhere, and so their worst fear is losing someone over whom they can exert dominance (Forms of Stalking).

It is this fear — of becoming a person without self-worth or identity at the end of a relationship — that drives this class of stalker to begin stalking out of desperation, in an attempt to regain their partner and the basis for their power. This total dependence on the partner is what makes these stalkers particularly dangerous. Willing to go to any length to get their partner back, and failing, they may become suicidal or seek to kill the partner who has left them. It is not likely that the stalking will begin with violence. It is more likely to start with attempts to cajole the victim into returning to the relationship, escalating from there. Many times these stalkers follow through with their threats to kill the victim and then commit suicide. To them, it is better to die than to live a life of humiliation watching the victim move on and having to confront their own powerlessness.

Love Obsession stalkers are individuals who become obsessed with a person with whom they have had no prior intimate or close relationship. The victim could be a friend, a business acquaintance, someone they have met on a single occasion, or even a total stranger. These stalkers may believe that a special and magical relationship exists between them and their victims. Any success in contacting the victim reinforces this belief, and any ambivalence from the victim is interpreted as an invitation to continue. They are quite likely to perceive sexual meanings in neutral responses. These stalkers are likely to live lonely and emotionally empty lives and often have a history of failed relationships. A majority of them suffer from erotomania — the delusional belief that they are the object of intense love, typically from someone of higher socioeconomic status or a celebrity. They also believe that some external influence is preventing this affection from being openly expressed, and they fantasize about a full relationship with the victim (Forms of Stalking).

When they attempt to act out this fantasy in real life and expect the victim to respond in kind, they are met with rejection. This stalker then responds with threats and intimidation, and when these also fail to meet their expectations, they can become violent and even deadly.

Victim Demographics and Statistics

The third category — Other — consists of stalkers who do not harass their victims out of love or hate. Their motivation is more often a form of revenge for some real or imagined grievance against them, or stalking is used as a form of protest. This is the smallest group, yet these stalkers can be dangerous and could cause the death of the victim.

There is a common misconception that all stalking victims are either celebrities or young, attractive women. In reality, anyone can become the target of a stalker, regardless of color, race, or background. Nevertheless, most victims are women. Romance or love is not the true object of stalking; rather, it is driven by violence, control, and intimidation. The stalking of actress Catherine Zeta-Jones brought renewed public attention to the issue and its consequences. The extent of intrusion in the life of the victim was starkly illustrated by the actress reaching the brink of a nervous breakdown. Along with singers Mel C and Britney Spears and director Steven Spielberg, Zeta-Jones may believe that stalking is a price of fame — but celebrity status is not a prerequisite for being targeted (The dark world of obsession).