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Stalking: Behaviors
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Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted attention, harassment, and contact. Isolated acts may not be considered stalking, but where there is a pattern, the behavior is generally illegal. It is a course of conduct that can include:
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Naming these behaviors "stalking" is useful in a number of ways. First, the stalking itself, not just the assault in which it often results, is a form of violence. The batterer is taking specific actions, such as calling or appearing at a place of work, that are designed to intimidate and coerce his former partner. Second, the term "stalking" identifies a pattern of behaviors that often leads to serious or fatal attacks. Identifying the pattern of behaviors can therefore be useful in taking steps to prevent an assault. Third, naming this pattern of behaviors helps to convey the seriousness of these behaviors.
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While this progression in behavior is common, no stalking case is completely predictable. Some stalkers may never escalate past the first stage. Others jump from the first stage to the last stage with little warning. Still others regress to previous stages before advancing to the next. It is not uncommon to see stalkers intersperse episodes of threats and violence with flowers and love letters.
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Since the early 1990s, legislation criminalizing "stalking" behavior has been passed in all states in the United States. The effectiveness of this anti-stalking legislation in promoting women's safety... is not yet clear. Anti-stalking legislation recognizes this behavior as wrong and contributes to an awareness that stalking is a form of domestic violence. Stalking provisions allow prosecutors to add additional charges and can, in some cases, prevent violence by criminalizing behavior that would otherwise not be actionable.
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This process of distinguishing stalking from other deviant social or criminal behavior reached a defining moment in 1990 when the state of California passed the first statute that made stalking a crime. This was a watershed event that triggered similar statutes in other states and at the federal level. The enactment of the California statute resulted in a growing awareness of stalking among criminal justice officials, victim service professionals, and the general public--all of whom began to view the problem in a more serious light.
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Research ... indicates that teenagers are subjected to stalking and that they have difficulty extricating themselves from such situations. Stalkers may include a high school classmate or an older man with whom a teenager has developed a relationship. When a teenage stalker is involved, the victim may have difficulty convincing law enforcement and school officials that the behavior is more than adolescent "boys will be boys" conduct.
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