Stalking Laws and StatisticsStalking is a crime in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canad...

1. Profiling the Stalker
Stalking Laws and Statistics
Stalking is a crime in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Stalking is classified as
criminal harassment under Canadian law.
Stalking is a pattern of unwanted obsessive behaviour where the victim is being followed, harassed
or monitored by an assailant.
It is defined in Section 2.64 of the Canadian Criminal Code as:
Repeatedly following a person from place to place;Repeatedly communicating with the person
directly or indirectly;Watching the person where he or she is living, working, or visiting;
andEngaging in threatening conduct directed at the person or any member of his or her
family.According to the Stalking Resource Centre, 3.4 million people aged 18 and older are stalked
each year in the United States, and people between the ages of 18 and 24 experience the highest
rate of stalking victimization.Who Becomes a Stalker?
There is no such thing as an average looking stalker. They can be male or female and they come in
different shapes and sizes and from all walks of life, but experts agree that many stalkers are
isolated, lonely and disadvantaged.
Stalkers are usually triggered by a significant trauma in their lives such as job termination, divorce,
loss of a child, or an ill parent. Contrary to popular belief, most are not psychotic. They can be
manipulative, and controlling, lonely and frustrated, and many have poor social skills. Behaviours
can range from psychotic to fully functioning and successful members of society.
Stalking Tactics
Stalkers are known to follow their victims and keep surveillance on them, but stalkers want more
than just to know their victims' whereabouts, they want personal contact with their victims, they will
do anything to be in their victims' lives and this is what makes them post a serious threat:
The stalker wants a relationship with the victim;The stalker will follow the victim;The stalker will spy
on the victim;The stalker will stand outside of the victim's home or work;The stalker will contact the
victim through unwanted telephone calls;The stalker will send unwanted letters and unwanted items
to the victim;The stalker will vandalize the victim's property; orThe stalker will kill, threaten to kill,
or kidnap the victim's pet.Types of Stalkers - The Rejected Stalker
A rejected stalker is someone who is obsessed with a former romantic partner or friend who has
terminated the relationship. This stalker usually has poor social skills, and is narcissistic and feels
humiliated by the rejection.
This stalker wants both reconciliation and revenge, and may become jealous when the victim begins
or continues a romantic relationship with another person. A rejected stalker is likely to harm the
victim using intimidation and assault. It is common for there to have been a history of violence in the
relationship.

2. Stalker Types - The Resentful Stalker
Resentful stalkers are looking for revenge against people they feel have offended or upset them. The
victim may be someone the stalker knows, or the victim could be a complete stranger. The goal is to
frighten or distress the victim, and make the victim feel the same humiliation that the stalker has
felt.
Resentful stalkers are more likely to leave personal threats, and property damage, but are unlikely
to physically harm their victims. They are more likely to use verbal threats.
Types of Stalkers - The Incompetent Suitor
An incompetent suitor is someone who desires a romantic or sexual relationship with the victim, but
has limited social and courting skills.
This stalker will repeatedly ask the victim for dates, and will continually phone the victim even after
repeatedly being rejected.
An incompetent suitor is very narcissistic and cut off from the victim's feelings, and lacks empathy
for the victim. This stalker believes that anyone should be attracted to him or her. This stalker will
even attempt to hold the victim's hand, or kiss the victim. This stalker has likely stalked others in the
past, and will continue to stalk in the future. An incompetent suitor tends to move on when
threatened with legal action.
Stalker Types - Symbolic/Transference Stalkers
Sometimes, when stalkers cannot reach their victims, they
transfer their anger to others who they believe are blocking
access to their victims. The targets can include co-workers,
friends, family members of the victim, and the police. These
targets commonly receive the following from the stalker:
threats;suicide notes;strange gifts like dead
flowers;unwanted, sexually explicit, harassing messages; andpromises that they will suffer
misfortunes in the near future.Stalking Targets
Many people wonder what characteristics, traits and types of people are attractive to stalkers.
According to an ABC news report, men represent 87 percent stalkers, while women represent 78
percent of stalking victims. Experts feel that cases of male victimization are under-reported.
Stalkers like overly empathetic people. The stalking often begins when the victim is "just being nice"
and listening to someone who just needs to vent his or her problems. This often occurs in empathetic
environments such as client-professional relationships, and co-worker-supervisor relationships.
Many workplace professionals have become victims of stalking, and the following is a Canadian
example.
A prominent criminal lawyer in Ottawa was repeatedly stalked by a woman for more than eight
years.She worked as a receptionist for him for a few months one summer.She claimed that she was a

3. law student although she was not.She began stalking him at his law firm, and in the courtroom.She
set up shrines honouring him.She threatened him and his family.She assaulted one of his associates
at work.If you feel that you are being stalked, get help. Do not suffer in silence, and be sure to tell
the police. Victims should document the harassment, and call the National Centre for Victims of
Crime at 1-800-FYI-CALL if you need to learn about your legal rights. Do not confront the stalker,
and do not encourage the behaviour. Call 9-11 if you are in immediate danger.
Sources:
"Stalking." Criminal Law Resources. Duhaime.org.
Stalking Resource Centre: Stalking Fact Sheet. Stalking Awareness Month.org. June 2009.
Types of Stalkers and Stalking Patterns. Sexual Harassment Support.org. 2009.
Workplace Stalking: A Guide for Criminal Justice Professionals. September, 2002.
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