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Revealed: fears that stalk millions of Americans
Source: Agencies |
January 14, 2009, Wednesday
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AN estimated 3.4 million Americans identified themselves as victims of stalking during a one-year span, federal crime experts said yesterday after releasing details of the largest survey so far of the aggravating and often terrifying phenomenon.
About half of the victims experienced at least one unwanted contact a week from a stalker, and 11 percent had been stalked for five or more years, according to the report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics which covered a 12-month period in 2005-06.
Stalking had not featured in previous versions of the National Crime Victimization Survey.
The researchers defined stalking as a course of conduct directed at a specific person on at least two separate occasions that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. The most commonly reported types were unwanted phone calls (66 percent), unsolicited letters or e-mail (31 percent), or having rumors spread about the victim (36 percent).
More than one-third of the victims reported being followed or spied on; some said they were tracked by electronic monitoring, listening devices or video cameras.
Nearly 75 percent of victims knew their stalker - most commonly a former spouse or ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.
Women were far more likely than men to be victims, and divorced or separated people were more vulnerable than other marital categories. People aged 18 to 24 were more likely to be stalked than older people.
Victims reported suffering a range of emotions. Their most common fears included not knowing what would happen next (46 percent) and fearing the stalking would continue indefinitely (29 percent). Nine percent of victims said their worst fear was death.
The report revealed that about 130,000 victims said they had been fired or asked to leave their job because of problems arising from stalking. About one in eight of employed victims lost time from work, either for safety fears or to pursue activities such as seeking a restraining order or testifying in court.
Mary Lou Leary, a former federal prosecutor who is executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, said she was struck by the persistence of some of the stalking behavior depicted in the report.
She credited law enforcement authorities with taking stalking seriously, but said more needed to be done to strengthen laws against it.
The federal government and all 50 states have enacted laws making stalking a crime, but the laws and definitions of stalking vary widely.
About half of the victims experienced at least one unwanted contact a week from a stalker, and 11 percent had been stalked for five or more years, according to the report by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics which covered a 12-month period in 2005-06.
Stalking had not featured in previous versions of the National Crime Victimization Survey.
The researchers defined stalking as a course of conduct directed at a specific person on at least two separate occasions that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. The most commonly reported types were unwanted phone calls (66 percent), unsolicited letters or e-mail (31 percent), or having rumors spread about the victim (36 percent).
More than one-third of the victims reported being followed or spied on; some said they were tracked by electronic monitoring, listening devices or video cameras.
Nearly 75 percent of victims knew their stalker - most commonly a former spouse or ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.
Women were far more likely than men to be victims, and divorced or separated people were more vulnerable than other marital categories. People aged 18 to 24 were more likely to be stalked than older people.
Victims reported suffering a range of emotions. Their most common fears included not knowing what would happen next (46 percent) and fearing the stalking would continue indefinitely (29 percent). Nine percent of victims said their worst fear was death.
The report revealed that about 130,000 victims said they had been fired or asked to leave their job because of problems arising from stalking. About one in eight of employed victims lost time from work, either for safety fears or to pursue activities such as seeking a restraining order or testifying in court.
Mary Lou Leary, a former federal prosecutor who is executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, said she was struck by the persistence of some of the stalking behavior depicted in the report.
She credited law enforcement authorities with taking stalking seriously, but said more needed to be done to strengthen laws against it.
The federal government and all 50 states have enacted laws making stalking a crime, but the laws and definitions of stalking vary widely.
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