Stalking and the impacts it has on its victims

Stalking and the impacts it has on its victims

Stalking is a ubiquitous crime that can profoundly diminish the victim’s quality of life. Stalking transpires when one individual repeatedly inflicts on another individual repeated unwelcome contact or communication which provokes fear and trepidation. Much of the behaviors linked with stalking overlap with common, though annoying, experiences (e.g. being persistently emailed or physically approached for a date). The obscurity for victims is distinguishing the distinction between brief occurrences of intrusiveness or social ineptness, and the beginnings of a more relentless campaign of harassment. With the onset of new communication devices in this information age, stalking has taking on new forms, which generated a new term, cyber-stalker, which is an individual who constantly harasses another individual via the internet. For the greater good of society as a whole, the public must understand what is stalking, what induces it and the potential impact on its victims.  
Experts agree Stalking is a derogatory word that summarizes the following conduct:   obsessive following, observing and contacting of another person. However, several dissimilar definitions of stalking are in the field of psychology, criminology and law with most defining the actions as a pattern of harassing or menacing behaviors coupled with a threat. Generally, stalking can be defined as, “a course of conduct directed at a specific person that involves repeated visual or physical proximity; nonconsensual communication; verbal, written, or implied threats; or a combination thereof that would cause fear in a reasonable person (Wood, 2002)." Michael Craig Miller, the author of the March, 2001 issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, defines stalking as the, “consistent pursuit, harassment, and intimidation by a person who has or believes he has a significant personal relationship with the object of his unwanted attention.”   Miller goes on to say- the act of stalking is committed by sending...