Stalking often predicts and/or co-occurs with domestic or sexual violence. Over half of stalkers are current or former intimate partners and nearly 1 in 3 women who were stalked by an intimate partner were also sexually assaulted by that partner. Many stalking survivors experience additional sexual co-victimizations, including sexual threats and nonconsensual distribution of intimate images.
Stalking is a terrifying and psychologically harmful crime in its own right as well as a predictor of lethality. On average, intimate partner stalkers are the most threatening and dangerous type of stalker, and stalking increases the risk of intimate partner homicide by three times.
Stalking is a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that causes fear. Many abusers stalk their partners both during the relationship and after the relationship has ended as an extension of coercive control. Though millions of men and women are stalked every year in the United States – with a frequent co-occurrence of sexual or domestic violence — the crime of stalking is often misunderstood, minimized and/or ignored.
We all have a role to play in identifying stalking and supporting victims and survivors. Learn more by following our social media posts or at www.stalkingawareness.org.
