The Traumatic Effects of Stalking

January is Stalking Awareness Month. This is a good time to take a look at the long term impact that stalking can have on the person being stalked. There have been a number of studies done on this issue and I will review some of the conclusions here.


In "Stalking – An Overview of the Problem" [Can J Psychiatry 1998;43:473–476], authors Karen M Abrams and Gail Erlick Robinson write:

"Initially, there is often much denial by the victim. Over time, however, the stress begins to erode the victim's life and psychological brutalisation results. Sometimes the victim develops an almost fatal resolve that, inevitably, one day she will be murdered. Victims, unable to live a normal life, describe feeling stripped of self-worth and dignity. Personal control and resources, psychosocial development, social support, premorbid personality traits, and the severity of the stress may all influence how the victim experiences and responds to it… Victims stalked by ex-lovers may experience additional guilt and lowered self-esteem for perceived poor judgement in their relationship choices. Many victims become isolated and deprived of support when employers or friends withdraw after also being subjected to harassment or are cut off by the victim in order to protect them. Other tangible consequences include financial losses from quitting jobs, moving, and buying expensive security equipment in an attempt to gain privacy. Changing homes and jobs results in both material losses and loss of self-respect."

Surprisingly, verbal, psychological, and emotional abuse have the same effects as the physical variety [Psychology Today, September/October 2000 issue, p.24]. Abuse of all kinds also interferes with the victim's ability to work. Abrams and Robinson wrote this [in "Occupational Effects of Stalking", Can J Psychiatry 2002;47:468–472]:

"… (B)eing stalked by a former partner may affect a victim's ability to work in 3 ways. First, the stalking behaviours often interfere directly with the ability to get to work (for example, flattening tires or other methods of preventing leaving the home). Second, the workplace may become an unsafe location if the offender decides to appear. Third, the mental health effects of such trauma may result in forgetfulness, fatigue, lowered concentration, and disorganisation. These factors may lead to the loss of employment, with accompanying loss of income, security, and status."

Mullen and colleagues have done extensive research on stalking impact in Australia. (Mullen, P.E., M. Pathe, and R. Purcell. Stalkers and Their Victims. (Cambridge University Press, 2000).Their 1997 survey of 100 stalking victims found that stalking resulted in significant activity changes for its victims, including the following:

• Major lifestyle changes or modification of daily activity for 94 percent of victims
• Curtailment of social activities for 70 percent of victims
• Decrease or cessation of work or school attendance for 50 percent of victims (due either to absenteeism or stalker invasion of work or school site)
• Relocation of residence for 40 percent of victims
• Change of workplace or school for 34 percent of victims.

The researchers also found important psychological problems resulting from the stalking, including these:

• Increased anxiety and arousal for 80 percent of victims
• Chronic sleep disturbance for 75 percent of victims
• Recurring thoughts or flashbacks to the stalking, resulting in distress for 55 percent of victims (often triggered by ordinary events such as a ringing telephone or doorbell)
• Appetite disturbance for 50 percent of victims
• Excessive tiredness, weakness, or headaches for 50 percent of victims
• Numbing of responses to others, including feeling of detachment for 38 percent of victims
• Nausea before going to places associated with the stalking for 33 percent of victims
• Increased alcohol or cigarette use for 25 percent of victims
• Contemplation of suicide for 25 percent of victims.

The researchers' analysis of these findings suggested that most of the stalking victims experienced at least one major symptom associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The authors explain that this is not surprising because "stalking possesses many of the features that may produce chronic stress reactions and related psychological sequelae."Those features include persistent, repetitive trauma; loss of control; state of persistent threat with associated symptoms that may far outlive the actual duration of the harassment; and loss of social supports normally available for crime victims because of mistrust and fear generated by the stalking itself. While many factors affected the specifics of the stalking impact on the victims, there was not one victim who did notexperience some level of harm "that in some cases amounted to profound deterioration in functioning."

It is also important to note that the impact of cyber stalking has the same affect, if not greater, than physical stalking.

According to the Iowa Rape Victim Advocacy Center (www.rvap.org), cyber-stalking can consist of a variety of activities, but it is generally defined as the continued and deliberate harassment, threatening behavior, or unwanted advances towards a person through the internet or other forms of on-line and computer communications. Cyber-stalking does not include occasional junk mail, but it does include any methodical or deliberate attempt to harass the victim.

Cyber-stalkers can find their victims through chat rooms, online communities, discussion forums, e-mails, or through a random search. Even people without access to the internet can be victims of cyber-stalking. All the stalker needs to do is find out personal information about the victim and they can then use that to impersonate the victim and solicit meetings with strangers without the victim ever getting on to a computer.

Cyber-stalking can take many forms, some of which are below.

• threatening or obscene e-mails
• spamming or e-mail bombing- sending large amounts of email to shut down the victims e-mail from working
• live chat harassment
• "flaming"- online verbal abuse
• leaving obscene or threatening messages in guest books or on message boards
• sending electronic viruses
• sending unsolicited e-mail
• tracing computer and internet activity
• impersonation of the victim to solicit sex acts
• identity theft

Cyber-stalking can escalate to physical danger for the victim. If a stalker obtains personal information, such as an address or phone number or even the social security number of the victim, this information can be used to stalk and harass the victim even after the cyber-stalking has ceased.