Stalking

The following chapter provides an overview of the existing adult and adolescent stalking literature. This chapter begins with a discussion of stalking definitions. There is currently a lack of agreement amongst academics, governments, and practitioners on how best to define stalking, which has led to inconsistencies in how stalking is defined within law and research. The implications of definitions for our understanding of stalking and the support provided to targets of stalking are discussed. Findings from the adult and adolescent stalking literature are then described and compared, with a focus on prevalence rates, target and perpetrator characteristics, stalking behaviours, and the impacts of stalking. Throughout this chapter, several notable gender differences are identified. Females are at significantly higher risks of being targets of stalking, and the psychological, physical, and lifestyle impacts of stalking may be greater for female targets. Males are significantly more likely to be perpetrators of stalking and gender differences in the stalking behaviours used by male and female perpetrators are identified. This chapter concludes that stalking can and should be considered a form of gender-based violence, and recommendations for research and practice are suggested.