Stalking Statistics
Eight percent of women and 2% of men in the United States have been stalked at some point in their lives. In other words, one out of every twelve American women (8.2 million) and one out of every 45 American men (2 million) have been stalking victims (Tjaden & Thoennes, 1998).
An estimated 1,006,970 women and 370,990 men are stalked annually in the United States (Ibid.).
Seventy-eight percent of stalking victims are female whereas 87% of stalkers are male (Ibid).
Fifty-three percent of stalking cases are reported to the police. About 12% of all stalking cases result in criminal prosecution. About a quarter of female stalking victims and about a tenth of male stalking victims obtain restraining orders against their stalkers. Sixty-nine percent of women with restraining orders and 81% of the men said their stalkers violated the order (Ibid.).
One hundred stalking victims completed questionnaires about their victimizations. The majority reported that they were harassed in several ways, such as being followed, repeatedly approached and bombarded with letters and telephone calls. The duration of the stalkings ranged from one month to twenty years. Fifty-eight of the respondents had received threats, and 34 were physically or sexually assaulted. Ninety-four percent significantly altered their social and work lives because they were being stalked; 83% felt increased levels of anxiety; 24% thought about suicide; and 37% suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder. (Pathe & Mullen, 1997).
According to a study of males and females charged with felony domestic violence offenses, those who self-reported stalking behavior tended to have a prior history of stalking another victim and live alone. They were also less likely to be married and used more alcohol than nonstalkers. (Burgess, et al, 1997).
References
Burgess, Ann, et al. (1997). "Stalking Behaviors Within Domestic Violence." Journal of Family Violence, 12(4): 389-403.
Pathe, Michelle & Paul Mullen. (1997). "The Impact of Stalkers on Their Victims." British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 170: 12-17.