A spate of horrors that befell some of the victims has spawned great public interest in harassing behavior called stalking.
The number of cases has been estimated at 200,000 each year. The actual number may be much higher, but law enforcement does not categorize all cases of harassment or abuse as stalking.
Are people who harass and threaten others displaying mental disorder? Where do we draw the line between legal but inappropriate behavior and illegal acts? Which authorities should deal with the problem and how?
The mental health and legal communities have joined the rest of us in asking these questions as society searches for a solution to what seems to be a growing problem.
STALKERS AND VICTIMS
Mental health professionals estimate that 90 percent of stalkers suffer from some kind of mental disorder. Some apparently experience an erotomanic dilusion, a psychotic belief without any basis whatsoever that one is loved by another person who may actually be a casual acquaintance or even a complete stranger.
In this split from reality, the deluded person may become obsessed with someone and may even develop a fantasy in which he or she feels compelled to harm or kill that person.
More typically, though, stalking is associated with a host of nonpsychotic disturbances, including borderline, antisocial, and narcissistic personality disorders and depression. The multiplicity of possibilities makes it more difficult to identify a given person as being likely to become a stalker.
Overall, little research has been done on the psychological underpinnings or patterns of behavior of people who become stalkers. Studies have failed to reveal much information about how or when a person’s delusional or obsessive interest in someone crosses the line into action.
So far, the main point of agreement among all who look at stalking is that it is complex and little-understood phenomenon.
Headline cases, such as when the actress Rebecca Shaffer of the television show My Sister Sam was killed outside her West Hollywood apartment by an obsessed fan, catch the public’s attention and spur interest and action. But most victims of stalking are not celebrities.
It has been estimated that many of the women who are murdered by husbands or boyfriends have, in fact, been stalked first. The victim may go through months or even years of fear and intimidation, changing phone numbers, moving, or hiding.
An endless stream of threatening phone calls and letters, intimidating visits, and physical abuse creates an atmosphere of terror that dominates the lives of both victim and stalker.
INTERVENTIONS
Unfortunately, threatening and harassing behavior without actual physical violence typically leaves police officials wit their hands tied: one cannot be fully protected against that have not yet been taken. This dilemma facing not only the victims of stalking, but legal community that wants to protect thm and the mental health and civil liberties communities that want to address the needs and rights of all.
Lately, a number of state legislatures across the States have enacted new laws that make it easier for a stalking victim to obtain a restraining order, but they also have certain limitations.
These laws make it easier for a victim to obtain a restraining order, but they also have certain limitations. They are, for example, ineffective against stalkers whose first act of violence is murder. In addition, the enforcement of the new laws may have negative impact in some cases: sitting in jail could fuel rather extinguish the stalkers anger.
Furthermore, many of the anti stalking legislation, federal authorities find it difficult to intervene in a consistent manner. The new laws are also vulnerable to misuse. Spouses may use them to retaliate. Against partners who have no thought of committing acts the legislation laws may violate the constitutional rights of alleged stalkers and may be stuck down by the states courts.
This is chilling prospect for the past and potential victims, but it is natural for the pendulum to swing toward a more restrained approach as the mental health and legal communities try to find a way to protect the rights both victims and of those who are accused.
Read more: Why is it so difficult to end an abusive relationship?
