Stalking
Stalking occurs when someone watches, follows or harasses you repeatedly, making you feel afraid or unsafe, and may occur from someone you know, a past partner or a stranger.
Common Examples of Stalking
1 in 6 women and 1 in 9 men in the U.S. have been victims of stalking at some point in their lifetimes in which they felt fearful or believed that they would be harmed or killed
- Showing up at your home or workplace unannounced or uninvited
- Sending you unwanted texts, messages, letters, emails or voicemails
- Leaving you unwanted items, gifts or flowers
- Calling you and hanging up repeatedly or making unwanted phone calls to you, your employer, professor or a loved one
- Using social media or technology to track your activities
- Speaking rumors about you online or in person
- Manipulating other people to investigate your life, including using someone else's social media account to look at your profile or befriending your friends in order to get information about you
- Waiting around at places you frequent
- Damaging your home, car or other property
- Hiring a private investigator to follow or find you as a way of knowing your locations and/or movements
Other Stalking Stats
- 66% of female stalking victims were stalked by a current or former intimate partner(s)
- 40% of men who were stalked were primarily stalked by partners or acquaintances
- The most common stalking technique by both female and male victims of stalking was repeated unwanted phone calls, voice or text messages
- 11% of women and 2% of men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime