When people think of stalking, they often picture a stranger hiding in the shadows, watching from afar with binoculars. At the other end of the spectrum, persistence is sometimes misinterpreted as romantic and determined. However, these two ideas don’t capture the reality of stalking. Stalking often involves someone known to the victim (ex-partner, family member, friends) and begins with repeated, unwanted contact that can escalate over time and lead to serious harm (including homicide)
Early Warning Signs
Although it can, stalking doesn’t always have to begin with overt threats. It can begin with repeated messaging, excessive calling or persistent attempts to maintain contact after rejection.
Other early warning signs include
- Turning up uninvited at someone’s home, workplace or social settings
- Sending unwanted gifts
- Monitoring social activities or posting about them
- Ignoring clear boundaries or requests to stop
While these actions may be framed as affection, they often are driven by fixation and obsession with the victim and reflect their need for control.
Escalation
As stalking progresses, behaviours can start to become more frequent, intrusive and frightening. This is often triggered by the perpetrator feeling a loss of control.
At this stage, behaviours may include:
- Following or surveilling the victim
- Gathering more information or tracking movements
- Contacting friends, family or coworkers
- Increasingly intimidating or threatening
- Using various methods to maintain contact (creating multiple accounts, using different phone numbers, getting other people to contact the victim)
High Risk Indicators
Certain behaviours can be strongly associated with an increased risk of serious harm. These should always be treated as an urgent warning sign.
High risk indicators include:
- Direct or implied threats to kill
- Damage to property
- Breaches in bail conditions or protective orders
- Excessive jealously or possessiveness (for example saying if I can’t have you no one else can)
- A history of domestic abuse of physical violence
The Link to Homicide
Stalking is a significant risk factor in cases of serious violence. In most of these cases, patterns of stalking behaviours are present prior to the escalation of serious harm or homicide with one study finding at stalking was present in 94% of domestic homicide or attempted murders.
It is important to note that these incidents are rarely isolated or sudden. They are often an accumulation of behaviours that progress but can often go unrecognised or are not acted upon by authorities.
