Largest-ever National Study on Stalking a Wake-up Call
National Center for Victims of Crime, the nation’s leading resource and advocacy organization for crime
victims and founder of the Stalking Resource Center. Stalking Victimization in the United States, the largest
collection of data on stalking prevalence and behavior to date, found that 3.4 million persons identified
themselves as victims of stalking in a 12-month period. This figure, which represents an increase of 2 million
victims per year over the findings of a key 1998 study,1 suggests the urgent need for a more comprehensive
response to the crime.
“This groundbreaking report shows the vast scope of stalking and the devastating impact of the crime,” said
Mary Lou Leary, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. “It also sheds light on some
previously unexplored aspects of stalking, such as the use of technology to stalk.” More than one in four
victims reported that stalkers had used technology, such as e-mail or instant messaging, to follow and harass
them, and one in 13 said stalkers had used electronic devices to intrude on their lives. One in seven victims
reported having moved to protect themselves. About 130,000 victims reported having been fired or asked to
leave their job because of the stalking, and about 1 in 8 lost time from work because they feared for their safety or were taking step (such as seeking a protection order) to protect themselves.
Raed the full article at http://www.ncvc.org/src/AGP.Net/Components/DocumentViewer/Download.aspxnz?DocumentID=45874
