stalking

Definition of stalking

Verb

stalking

1. Present participle of stalk.

Noun

stalking (plural stalkings)

1. Hunting for game by moving silently and stealthily or by waiting in ambush
2. The crime of following or harassing another person, causing him or her to fear death or injury

Further reading

Stalking is a term used to describe unwanted attention by individuals (and sometimes groups of people) to others. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation. The word "stalking" is used, with some differing meanings, in psychology and psychiatry and also in some legal jurisdictions as a term for a criminal offence. It may also be used to refer to criminal offences or civil wrongs that include conduct which some people consider to be stalking, such as those described in law as "harassment" or similar terms.

Definitions of stalking

The difficulties associated with precisely defining this term (or defining it at all) are well documented.[1] It seems to have been first applied to the harassment (in a general sense) of celebrities by strangers who were described as being obsessed. This use of the word appears to have been coined by the tabloid press in the United States.[2]

References

1. Characteristics of False Stalking Reports
2. Lawson-Cruttenden, 1996, Is there a law against stalking?, New Law Journal/6736 pp.418-420, cited here [1]

Further reading

• Stalking at the Open Directory Project
• How To Stop A Stalker. Proctor, Mike. Prometheus Books, 2000.
• Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse Annotated Stalking Bibliography
• The Psychology of Stalking. Meloy, J. Reid. Academic Press, 2000.
• Stalkers and Their Victims, 2nd edition. Mullen, Paul E., Pathe, Michele, Purcell, Rosemary. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
• Surviving a Stalker: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Yourself Safe. Gross, Linda. Marlowe & Company, 2000.
• Lifetime prevalence and impact of stalking: Epidemiological data from Eastern Austria. Stefan Stieger; Christoph Burger; Anne Schild. European Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 22, N.° 4, (235-241), Zaragoza (ES) 2008, ISSN 0213-6163.
• Is This Stalking? A Comparison Between Legal and Community Definitions of Stalking. Susan Dennison and Don Thomson, paper presented at the Stalking: Criminal Justice Responses Conference convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology in Sydney, 7-8 December 2000
• U.S. National Center for the Victims of Crime Annotated Stalking Bibliography
• Davis, Joseph. A., ed (2001). Stalking Crimes and Victim Protection. ISBN 0849308119.