Types of Stalkers

There are several types of stalkers.  This website mostly addresses the "Simple Obsessional" stalker.  The stalker is usually an ex-spouse, ex-partner, or co-worker.  Obsessional activities begin after a relationship breaks up, or a relationship is refused, or the stalker imagines mistreatment by the victim.

Statistics
Overview of research findings in Research in Brief report "Stalking in America", April 1998

• About 75% of stalking victims were spied on or followed.
• About 45% received overt threats.
• About 30% had property vandalized.
• About 10% received threats that their pet(s) would be killed, or the pet(s) were killed.
• Only half of all female stalking victims reported their victimization to police.
• Only about 25% obtained a restraining order.
• 80% of restraining orders were violated by the assailant.
(This doesn't mean that r.o.'s are worthless.  Get an r.o. to build legal barriers, so that stalking will become less appealing to the stalker.  If it doesn't work, you'll need the r.o. anyway, tol move the stalker toward jail time.)
(If the stalker doesn't know your home address, you do NOT have to put your address on the r.o.!  You can list a contact address such as your attorney or a friend.)

• About 24% of female victims who reported stalking to the police said their cases were prosecuted.
Of the cases in which criminal charges were filed, 54% resulted in a conviction.
About 63% of convictions resulted in jail time.

• When asked why the stalking stopped:
About 20% of the victims said it was because they moved away.
15% said it was because of police involvement.
Also, the problem often stopped when the stalker began a relationship with a new girlfriend or wife.

The Six Stages of Stalking

I identified and named the "6 stages of stalking", as described on this website, according to my own personal experiences and research.

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