Stalking 

Four out of five stalking victims are women. 
By comparison, 94 percent of the stalkers
identified by female victims and 60 percent
of the stalkers identified by male victims
were male.  (Violence Against Women Grants Office.
(1998, July). Stalking and Domestic Violence: Third
Annual Report to Congress Under the Violence Against
Women Act, p. 10, citing the National Violence Against
Women Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Justice.)

Of women who had been stalked by former
husbands or partners, 21 percent said the
stalking occurred before the relationship
ended, 43 percent said it occurred after the
relationship ended, and 36 percent said it
occurred both before and after the
relationship ended.  (Ibid.)

With respect to stranger and acquaintance
stalking, 1.8 percent of all U.S. women,
compared with 0.8 percent of all U.S. men,
have been stalked by strangers; and 1.6
percent of all U.S. women, compared with
0.8 percent of all U.S. men have been
stalked by acquaintances.  (Ibid., p. 12)

When asked about their perceptions of why
they were stalked, 21 percent of stalking
victims said it was motivated by the stalker's
desire to control, or instill fear, in the
victim.  Only 7 percent of victims said the
stalkers were mentally ill or abusing drugs or
alcohol.  (Ibid., p. 14)

Researchers estimated that approximately 1
million women and 400,000 men are stalked
each year in the United States.  (National
Institute of Justice. (1997, November). "The Crime of
Stalking: How Big is the Problem?" Bulletin, citing The
National  Violence Against Women Survey, sponsored by 
National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.)

About half of all female stalking victims
reported their victimization to police and
about 25 percent obtained a restraining
order.  Eighty percent of all restraining
orders were violated by the assailant.  About
24 percent of female victims who reported
stalking to the police, as compared to 19
percent of male victims, said their cases
were prosecuted. Of the cases in which
criminal charges were filed, 54 percent
resulted in a conviction. About 63 percent of
convictions resulted in jail time.  (Ibid.)

Most victims knew their stalker.  Women
were significantly more likely to be stalked
by an intimate partner -- a current or former
spouse, co-habitating partner, or date.  (Ibid.)

Stalkers made overt threats to about 45
percent of victims; spied on or followed
about 75 percent of victims; vandalized the
property of about 30 percent of victims; and
threatened to kill or killed the pet(s) of about
10 percent of victims.  (Ibid.)

In most cases, stalking episodes lasted 1 year
or less, but in a few cases, stalking continued
for 5 or more years. When asked why the
stalking stopped, about 20 percent of the
victims said it was because they moved
away.  Another 15 percent said it was
because of police involvement. Also,
stalking of women victims often stopped
when the assailant began a relationship with
a new girlfriend or wife.  (Ibid.)

About one-third of stalking victims reported
they had sought psychological treatment.  In
addition, one-fifth lost time from work, and
7 percent of those never returned to work. 
(Ibid.)