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Stalking According to the National Violence Against Women Survey
The National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey, sponsored jointly by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the first nationwide stalking survey as a result of an increased awareness that a knowledge deficit exists about this crime. The survey resulted in the first national data collected with regard to stalking. The stalking survey involved phone calls with 8,000 women and 8,000 men, using a definition of stalking that did not require a "credible threat", but did require that the victim describe feeling high levels of fear. The survey found that:

8% of women and 2% of men in the U.S. have been stalked at some time in their life (1 out of every 12 women or 8.2 million and 1 out of every 45 men or 2 million);
Approximately 1,006,970 women and 370,990 men are stalked annually;
78% of stalking victims are female (or 4 out of 5 victims are female) and 87% of stalking offenders are male;
52% of all stalking victims are between the ages of 18 and 29 years old; 74% of stalking victims are between 18 and 39 years old;
23% of all female stalking victims and 36% of all male stalking victims are stalked by strangers, but most stalking cases involve offenders and victims who know each other;
59% of female stalking victims and 30% of male stalking victims are stalked by intimate partners (current or former spouses, current or former cohabitants or current or former boyfriends/girlfriends);
81% of female stalking victims who were stalked by a current or former husband or cohabiting partner were also physically assaulted by that partner;
31% of female stalking victims who were stalked by a current or former husband or cohabiting partner were sexually assaulted by that partner;
Less than 1/2 of all stalking victims are directly threatened by their stalkers. Nevertheless, the victims described experiencing a high level of fear as a result of the stalking behavior;
About 1/2 of all stalking victims report stalking offenses to law enforcement and about 1/4 of the cases reported actually result in the arrest of the stalker;
Only about 9-13% of all stalking cases result in criminal prosecution, and only about 53-60% of those prosecuted are convicted;
About 1/4 of female stalking victims and 1/10 of male victims obtain protection orders against their stalkers;
Of all victims with protection or restraining orders, 69% of the women and 81% of the men said their stalkers violated the order;
30% of female stalking victims and 20% of male stalking victims seek psychological counseling as a result of the stalking victimization;
The average stalking case lasts 1.8 years;
17% of American Indian and Alaska Native women are stalked in their lifetime, compared to 8.2% of white women, 6.5% of African-American women and 4.5% of Asian/Pacific Islander women.
Ninety percent of the stalking victims identified by the Survey said they were stalked by just one person during their life. 9% of female victims and 8% of male victims were stalked by two different persons. 1% of female victims and 2% of male victims said they had been stalked by three different persons in their lifetime. The Survey also drew the conclusion that in a one-year period, women are 3 times more likely to be stalked than raped, but they are 2 times more likely to be physically assaulted than stalked.

One of the problematic issues with conducting a survey like the one described lies in the definition of stalking used in the survey. When the definition required a victim to feel a high level of fear as a result of the stalking behavior, the persons questioned in the survey reported lower prevalence rates of stalking behavior. However, when the victims were allowed to describe having felt a low level of fear by their stalker's behavior and actions, the stalking prevalence rates reported increased dramatically, from 8% to 12% for women and from 2% to 4% for men.

A clear conclusion drawn from the Survey is that women tend to be stalked most often by intimate partners, defined as being current or former spouses, cohabitants or boyfriends. 38% of the women surveyed were stalked by current or former husbands, 10% by current of former cohabitants (of the same or opposite sex), and 14% by current or former dates or boyfriends.

Until the NVAW Survey, it was thought that women are most likely to be stalked by an intimate partner in the aftermath of a relationship, precipitating what has often been referred to as "separation assault". However, the Survey indicated that women who are stalked by intimate partners are stalked almost as often when the relationship is still intact as when the relationship has ended. 21% of female victims reported that stalking occurred before the relationship ended, 43% after the relationship ended, and 36% said it occurred both before and after the relationship ended.

While men are likely to be stalked by both strangers and acquaintances, women are nevertheless at greater risk than men of being stalked by strangers and acquaintances. 1.8% of all U.S. women, compared to .8% of all U.S. men, have been stalked by strangers. 1.6% of all U.S. women, compared with .8% of all U.S. men, have been stalked by someone they know--at least as an acquaintance, if not an intimate partner.

Of the male victims surveyed, it was discovered that men tend to be stalked by strangers and acquaintances. 90% of the stalkers are also male. Since there was a higher number of stalking prevalence reported by men who had previously lived with a man as a couple, compared with men who had never lived with a man as a couple, it would appear that homosexual men are more likely to be stalked than heterosexual men. However, it cannot be assumed that men who stalk other men are motivated by sexual attraction since in some instances, the stalker may be motivated by homophobia or the stalking may occur as a result of gang rivalries or some other type of criminal activity.

The NVAW Survey also found that it is uncommon for a stalker to make an overt threat of violence against a victim, thus calling into question the wisdom of State anti-stalking statutes that include in their definition the requirement that a stalker make a "credible threat" against a victim. (Less than 1/2 of all victims, both male and female, reported that they had been directly threatened by their stalker.) Women surveyed were more likely than men to describe their stalking victimization as including acts of following, surveillance, and unsolicited telephone calls. However, equal percentages of male and female victims reported receiving unwanted letters or items, the vandalism of property, and the killing (or threat to kill) a pet.

When asked why they thought they had been stalked, most victims said that the stalking behavior had been motivated by their stalkers' desire to control or instill fear in their victim. Because this belief implies a perception that the stalker made clear choices regarding his/her actions, it can be concluded that most stalkers are not psychotic, delusional or otherwise mentally ill or emotionally disturbed.

Twenty-one percent of the victims surveyed said they had been stalked because the stalker wanted to control them. 20% said the stalker had stalked because he/she had wanted to hold the victim in the relationship. 16% of victims said they felt that their stalker had desired to frighten them by his/her actions. 12% of victims said they weren't sure why they had been stalked, while 7% attributed the stalking behavior to mental illness or alcohol and/or drug abuse. 5% of victims suggested that their stalker had engaged in stalking behavior because he/she wanted attention. 1% of victims said they thought the stalker's motivation had been to "catch them" engaging in actions or behavior that the stalker had perhaps forbidden or suspected the victim of indulging in.

The Survey provided even greater evidence that there is a strong link between stalking and controlling or abusive behavior in intimate relationships, concluding that intimate partners who stalk are 4 times more likely than husbands or partners in the general population to physically assault their partners and 6 times more likely to sexually assault their partners. With the same reasoning, it is clear that intimate partners who do not indulge in stalking behavior, either before or after the termination of a relationship, are less likely to engage in abusive or controlling behavior toward their partner.

It is also significant that stalking by an intimate or a former intimate is usually longer in duration than stalking incidents involving non-intimates. Approximately 2/3 of all stalking cases last one year or less. 25% of all stalking cases continue in duration for from 2-to-5 years. An estimated 1/10 continue for more than 5 years. Stalking cases involving intimates or former intimates last 2.2 years, on average, whereas stalking cases involving non-intimates last 1.1 years.

Statistics on Stalking

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