stalking behaviors and mental illness

stalking behaviors and mental illness Stalking is a crime involving pursuing an individual in a threatening and potentially
dangerous way; state laws vary on legal defi nitions (Meloy, 1998). More
broadly defi ned, college students experience stalking as unwanted, repeated
attention or harassment that creates fear in a reasonable person. Fisher et al.
(2000) found that 13% of college females experienced being stalked; 80% knew
their stalkers (oft en a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, or classmate); the stalking lasted
about 60 days (occurring several times per week); 17% of the victims reported the
stalking to police; and 90% confi ded in a friend, family member, or roommate.Examples of stalking include being followed, watched, phoned, written, or
e-mailed in ways that seem obsessive or make the victim fear for her safety.
Counselors may be surprised to learn that in many jurisdictions police are
unable to intervene unless the stalker has met the legal defi nition for threatened
harm. Students are oft en frustrated and angered that police cannot
“do something,” since they experience intrusion and fear. At the same time,
actions that victims can take—changing phone numbers or e-mail accounts,
altering their usual behavior to avoid the stalker, or fi ling a student conduct
complaint—may feel burdensome. Since stalking can end in violent outcomes
or even death, the behavior needs to be taken seriously, and the impact on the
victim should not be minimized. A Cornell University website (Haugaard,
Seri, & March, 2004) is an excellent resource for counselors and students.