Stalking includes the following of a person about or the watching or frequenting of the vicinity of, or an approach to, a person’s place of residence, business or work or any place that a person frequents for the purposes of any activity.
It involves a persistent course of conduct or actions by a person which are intended to maintain contact with, or exercise power and control over another person. These actions cause distress, loss of control, fear or harassment to another person and occur more than once.
Stalking can involve threats or sexual innuendo and the stalker generally tries to intimidate or induce fear in the person they are stalking. The person being stalked may only realise they are being stalked once they identify a pattern of strange or suspicious incidents occurring, such as:
• Phone calls
• Text messages
• Messages left on social networking sites (e.g. Facebook / Twitter)
• Notes left on their car
• Flowers left at their home
• An awareness that they are being followed
• Being continually stared at by another person
The person being stalked often develops a sense of loss of control over their lives and is forced into changing their life routine and behaviours.
Stalking is committed when a person intentionally and persistently without legitimate reason engages in a course of conduct directed at another specific person against their will.
This causes the other person to develop fear, or to believe that harm would come to them. Simply this means that whatever intentional actions the stalker takes to put you in fear can be considered stalking when it occurs more than once and against your will.
Useful links
Alice Ruggles Trust
National Stalking Helpline
Paladin