It partly comes from when they were children and helpless and learned the tell which gave the clue away. Their pursuit behavior was less proximity based and their communications more benign than those of the male stalkers. This article provides a list of common stalking and. Stalkers are monitoring their victims movements and conversations using bugging and tracking devices as well as spyware and covert phone apps easily bought online, victims groups have warned. Violence among female stalkers psychological medicine. They seek to be one step behind their victim at all times, not caring if it makes that person uncomfortable, or that it may interfere with that persons daily life. Overall, only % of female stalking victims reported that their cases were criminally prosecuted. This confirmed that female stalkers tend to adopt more behaviors that permit them to be connected with their victims purcell et al. Strangers are reported as the perpetrator of stalking in less than 25% of stalking cases. Creepy stories of female stalkers, female stalkers and their victims, characteristics of female stalkers, creepiest reallife accounts of. More than 60% reported the person stalking them was a current or former partner. Their female stalkers had a median duration of stalking of 22 months. Frequent reasons for stalking included anger, obsession, feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and dependency. It was only after stalking became a specific form of offensive behavior that behavioral scientists and health care professionals began to systematically study stalkers and, equally important, the impact of their conduct on the victims.
Previously, a slightly lower percentage about 20% had emerged from bjerregaards research. I go over my experience with a female stalker, how it slowly escalated from friendly conversation to me having to hide from her at work and home. Victims characteristics the victims of the female stalkers were mostly males n 52, 67%. According to the academy of psychiatric law, the vast majority of female stalkers are single, highly educated women who. Unlike male stalkers who often pursue their victims to restore intimacy, these female stalkers often pursued their victims to establish intimacy. Female and male stalkers vary according to the motivation for their pursuit and their choice of victim. The 7 types of stalkers, and how to spot them psychology today.
Female stalkers and their victims semantic scholar. The typical female stalker was a single, separated, or divorced woman in her mid30s with a psychiatric diagnosis, most often a. Common emotions and motivations included anger, obsessional thoughts, rage at abandonment, loneliness, dependency, jealousy, and perceived betrayal. Reid meloy, phd, and cynthia boyd, phd demographic, clinical, and forensic data were gathered in an archival study of 82 female stalkers from the united states, canada, and australia. Eighty per cent of victims know their stalker and the most common is the exintimate rejected stalker. Indeed, stalking cases which emerge from relationship dating violence situations constitute the most common and potentially lethal class of stalking cases. They usually have repetitive thought patterns that play like a. Most have erotomanic delusions, and the rest have morbid infatuations with the victim. Female stalkers and their victims request pdf researchgate. Female victims were targeted one third of the time. Although most stalkers are men and their victims are women, females who stalk others remain a largely opaque subject among criminologists, sociologists.
Female stalkers, who make up 12% to % of all stalkers, are as predatory and dangerous as male stalkers, according to an article in the february 1 issue of psychiatric news. Their fear of abandonment doesnt allow them to reason, so its impossible to let them down easy. However, onefifth of the victims were completely unknown to their stalkers. These perpetrators have been in a previous relationship usually controlling and. Stalkers using bugging devices and spyware to monitor. Stalkers are obsessed with their victims, and this obsession is expressed in many ways. Female stalkers were predominantly single, heterosexual, educated individuals in. Male and female stalkers also tended to use similar methods of harassment, except that female stalkers favored the phone, and male stalkers physical pursuit. Perhaps some men arent physically afraid of their female stalkers, but that doesnt make their behavior any less criminal. While some of these cases might seem sort of funny and ridiculous, and others are truly terrifying. I have dealt with predators in prison and they develop an uncanny sense of who is weak. Stalkers are the most dangerous when their victims determine to physically remove themselves from the offenders presence on a permanent basis by leaving the relationship. Stalkers see their victims as possessions who are rightfully theirs, and stalking behavior is frequently activated by a breakup or an. According to the academy of psychiatric law, the vast majority of female stalkers are single, highly educated women who were diagnosed with a mental illness.
Stalking victims were most likely to be slightly older male acquaintances. Victims perceive control and obsessional behavior as primary motives of the stalker 2. Emotional stalkers are capable of charming their friends and family with their wit, leaving their victims feeling even more. This cease and desist order is to inform you that your persistent actions includin. The ability of stalkers to find and harass their victims has been aided in recent years by computers, email and the internet, which has. According to the researchers, the incidence of female stalkers appears to be rising over the past decade. Stalkers look for any way to interact with their victims.
Psychological impact of stalking on male and female health. The 7 types of stalkers, and how to spot them psychology. Violence among female stalkers volume 42 issue 3 s. What motives a stalker women and gender advocacy center. A female stalker typically seeks to attain a close intimacy with her victim, who usually is someone previously known and frequently is a person cast in the professional role of helper. Tjaden and thoennes9 reported an average age of 28 in their random probability telephone survey in the united states of victims of stalking.
Learn how to predict who might become a stalkerbefore its too late. The duration of the stalking campaigns was similar in both females and males, with a little longer duration in males. Fact sheet on stalking medical university of south carolina. A great majority of the victims of female stalkers were known to them, either as acquaintances, former lovers, or family members. When people think of stalkers, they almost always imagine a dangerously unstable man who is following a female victim. Some even try to manipulate the object of their stalking into contact by filing a frivolous. Being stalked andor the target of a harassment campaign can be incredibly stressful, irritating and emotionally and psychologically. Cdc, 2014 almost 25% reported the person stalking them was an acquaintance. Contrary to popular assumption, the female stalkers were no less likely than their male counterparts to threaten their victims or to attack their person or property. Stalkers write countless letters or emails to their. Intimacyseeking stalkers want an intimate relationship with a victim they believe is their true love and tend to imbue their victims with special desirability, excellence, and other qualities consistent with their belief of romanticized love. Traumatic distress among supportseeking female victims of. The 7 types of stalkers, and how to spot them most stalkers are men, but female stalkers often share a similar approach.
Ninety percent n 72 were white, five percent n 4 were hispanic, two percent n 2 were african american, and one percent n 1 was asian. You actually are entitled to send her a cease and desist letter that threatens legal action if her behavior continues. There are many other ways that female stalkers vary from males and the article is a good if somewhat disturbing read. Stalkers see themselves as the victims of being led on or toyed with. Females tended to amplify, more than the males, depression, and state and trait anxiety. Stalkers are often obsessive in multiple areas of their life including their romantic inclinations. Very few people realize that women can be stalkers, too. Skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Following a metaanalysis of 175 studies of stalkers and their victims, spitzberg and cupach. In most cases, you would never know a female stalker if you saw one.
Even if all symptoms were expressed in both females. Men who have been stalked by a woman share their story. In some cases, these female stalkers have completely ruined their victim s lives, and some of. Abstract the majority of the stalking literature reports on male. Some common reasons for this obsession include power, control, and sometimes revenge.
Psychological impact of stalking on male and female. In a significant proportion of female stalkers, the behavior is carried out in the. Psychopaths and stalking psychopathyawarenesss blog. The term refers to those who watch, lie in wait for, and sometimes physically assault their victim or victims. Dont underestimate dangerousness of female stalkers. Also, male stalkers of both oppositesex and samesex stalking are more likely than female stalkers to employ technology in their stalking agenda and. On the other hand, female victims of female stalkers often have their sexual orientation questioned, and often a homosexual relationship is assumed. Earlier this year, plans unveiled by the government announced that the maximum jail sentence for stalkers in britain will double, from five to 10. Researchers unravel the motives of stalkers the new york. First, as already noted, our respondents were a selfselected group of supportseeking female victims of stalking, which likely skews the reported distress to the more severe end of the spectrum.
According to the nvaw survey, slightly more than half of female stalking victims reported their stalking to the police 2. The perpetrators pursued their victims for an average of 22 months. The rejected and predatory stalkers are most likely to assault their victims, says zitek. Which type of stalkers tend to be persistent in their pursuit of their victims and fantasize about the victim being their love partner and may go to drastic means to get attention. Stalkers can be driven by several different reasons, and most have stalked more than one person in their lifetime. A study of women who stalk american journal of psychiatry.
1383 586 702 1384 1394 1329 337 171 1303 1255 414 12 990 1156 1442 141 556 1499 799 1414 269 1531 238 16 1163 1503 965 1119 1005 1026 352 731 1282 418 91 308 526 171 1162 199