STALKING

1. STALKING STALKING STALKING STALKING

2. To meet the legal definition of stalking, behavior must: • Be repeated, unwanted contact; • Make a credible threat to you or to an immediate family member; • Cause a reasonable person under those circumstances to have fear of bodily injury or kidnapping.

3. INTENT The stalker must have the intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate the victim, who must be placed in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury.

4. Bodily injury is defined as: • a cut, abrasion, bruise or disfigurement; • physical pain; • illness; • impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; or • any other injury of the body, no matter how temporary. Serious bodily injury is defined as: • a substantial risk of death; • extreme physical pain; • protracted and obvious disfigurement; or • protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.

5. INTENT In each of these crimes, the stalker must have the intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate the victim, who must be placed in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury. The victim’s immediate family members, spouse or intimate partners are also protected.

6. Immediate familyincludes the individual’s spouse, parents, siblings, children, or any other person living in the individual’s household who is related by blood or marriage. Spouse or Intimate Partner is defined as: • A spouse or former spouse of the target of the stalking; • A person who shares a child in common with the target of the stalking; • A person who cohabits or has cohabited as a spouse with the target of the stalking; or • Any other person similarly situated to a spouse who is protected by the domestic and family violence laws of the state or tribal jurisdiction where the injury occurred or the victim resides.

7. West Virginia Stalking LawsWV Code §61-2-9a • [a] Any person who willfully and repeatedly follows a person, their immediate family, current social companion or their counselor or attorney Penalty: misdemeanor county or regional jail up to 6 months and/or up to $1000 fine

8. [b] Any person who willfully and repeatedly follows and makes credible threats against a person (or any of the persons listed in [a]) with the intent of placing them in reasonable fear that they or an immediate family member will be killed, sexually assaulted, kidnapped, or physically harmed Penalty: misdemeanor county or regional jail up to 6 months and/or up to $1000 fine

9. [c] Any person who repeatedly harasses or repeatedly makes credible threats against a person (or any of the people listed in [a]) Penalty: misdemeanor county or regional jail up to 6 months and/or up to $1000 fine

10. SUMMARY • Focus is on interactions between stalker and persons with whom stalker has had a past personal relationship or seeks to establish a personal or social relationship • Can include victim’s immediate family, current social companion or professional counselor or attorney

11. SUMMARY Laws address: • Willfully and repeatedly following someone • Willfully and repeatedly following someone and making credible threats that cause reasonable fear or death, rape, assault, or kidnapping • Repeated harassment and repeated credible threats

12. If stalking behaviors occur: • In violation of an existing order, it is a misdemeanor and can result in local or regional incarceration for 90 – 365 days and/or fines of $2000 - $5000 • Within five years of a conviction and results in a second conviction, or is a violation of an existing protective order, it is a felony punishable by incarceration in a state correctional facility for 1 – 5 years and/or fines of $3000 - $10,000

13. FEDERAL LAWS INTERSTATE STALKING 18 U.S.C. §2261A(1) makes it a federal crime punishable from five years to life in prison, to travel across state, tribal or international lines to stalk another person.

14. 18 U.S. C. §2261A(2) makes it a federal crime, punishable from five years to life in prison, to stalk another person across state, tribal or international lines using regular mail, e-mail, or the Internet (cyberstalking).

15. INTERSTATE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE • 18 U.S.C. §2261(a)(1) makes it a federal crime, punishable from five years to life in prison, to travel across state, tribal or international lines with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate a spouse or partner and to commit, or attempt to commit, a crime of violence against that spouse or intimate partner.

16. INTERSTATE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 18 U.S.C. §2262(a)(2) makes it a federal crime, punishable from five years to life in prison, to cause an intimate partner to cross state, tribal or international lines by force, coercion, duress, or fraud and commit, or attempt to commit, a crime of violence against that spouse or intimate partner.

17. INTERSTATE VIOLATION OF A PROTECTIVE ORDER • 18 U.S.C. §2262 (a)(1) makes it a federal crime, punishable from five years to life in prison, to travel across state, tribal or international lines with the intent to violate a protective order and to subsequent conduct that violates that order.

18. INTERSTATE VIOLATION OF A PROTECTIVE ORDER 2262(a) (2) makes it a federal crime, punishable from five years to life in prison, to cause a person to cross state, tribal or international lines by force, coercion, duress, or fraud and subsequently engage in conduct that violates a protective order. The protective order must state that the abuser cannot threaten, harass or cause bodily injury.

19. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING FEDERAL LAWS • Life imprisonment if the victim dies • 20 years if the victim is permanently disfigured • 20 years if the victim suffers life threatening bodily injury • 10 years if the victim suffers serious bodily injury • 5 years for any other situation

20. INTERSTATECOMMUNICATIONS 18 U.S.C. §875(c) makes it a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, to transmit in interstate or foreign communications, any threat to kidnap or injure another person.

21. HARASSING TELEPHONE CALLS IN INTERSTATE COMMUNICATIONS 47 U.S.C. §223 (a)(1)(C) makes it a federal crime, punishable by up to two years in prison, to use a telephone or other telecommunications device to annoy, abuse, harass or threaten another person at another number.

22. WHO ARE STALKING VICTIMS?

23. STALKING CAN OCCUR: • During a relationship • After a relationship • In the absence of a relationship

24. Victims • 78% of stalking victims are female • 22% of stalking victims are male • 1 out of every 12 women will be stalked in her lifetime • 1 out of every 45 men will be stalked in his lifetime

25. 77% of female victims were stalked by someone they knew • 64% of male victims were stalked by someone they knew • 59% of female victims report being stalked by a former intimate partner

26. AGE OF STALKING VICTIMS 50% of stalking victims were between the ages of 18 and 27. 89% of stalking victims were under the age of 40.

27. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VICTIM AND OFFENDER

28. 81% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner. • 31% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also sexually assaulted by that partner.

29. STALKERS • 94% of stalkers identified by female victims were men. • 60% of stalkers identified by male victims were men. • 87% of stalkers overall were men.

30. TYPES OF STALKERS • SIMPLE OBSESSION • DELUSIONAL/LOVE OBSESSIVE

31. SIMPLE OBSESSIVE • Socially maladjusted and inept • Emotionally immature • Often subject to feelings of powerlessness • Unable to succeed in relationships by socially-acceptable means • Jealous, bordering on paranoid • Extremely insecure and suffers from low self-esteem

32. Domestic violence victims who leave an abusive relationship have a 75 percent higher risk of being murdered by their partners.

33. DELUSIONAL/LOVE OBSESSIONAL • Has no personal relationship with victim • Forms fixations on victim • Invents fictional stories • Most have mental disorders • When intimidation fails, some turn to violence

34. STALKING BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AND CYCLES

35. DANGER SIGNS • Frequent loss of temper • Extreme jealousy and controlling behavior • A belief that destiny led him or her to you, so you belong to the stalker in some way • Few close friendships and an over-dependence on you as a link to the world • Refusing to accept “no” • Vandalizing or destroying your property

36. STALKING BEHAVIORS • Sending unwanted letters, cards or gifts • Showing up at the victim’s work place, home, or school • Spying on the victim and “tapping” the victim’s telephone • Repeated obscene, threatening or “hang-up” calls • Following the victim in violation of a protective order

37. FACTORS THAT MAY INDICATE INCREASED POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE • History of violence exhibited by the stalker • Presence of physical abuse or domestic violence • Presence or absence of threats • Obsession with the same or similar victim over a period of time • Access and knowledge of weapons • Traveling a distance to be near the victim

38. DO PROTECTIVE ORDERS DISCOURAGE STALKING? • 25% of stalking victims obtain restraining orders. • Over 66% of these orders are violated. • In 21% of cases, violence and stalking escalated after the protective order was filed.

39. AVERAGE DURATION The average duration of a stalking case was 1.8 years. If stalking involved an intimate partner, the average duration increased to 2.2 years.

40. Top 3 reasons victims thought stalking ended: • Victim relocated • Stalker found a new partner • Law enforcement warned the stalker

41. EFFECTS OF STALKING ON VICTIMS • 30% of female victims and 20% of male victims sought psychiatric counseling • 26% of victims lost time from work • 7% never returned to work because of relocation

42. SAFETY TIPS FOR VICTIMS • Tell the stalker “No” once and only once • Install solid core doors with dead bolts • Install adequate outside lighting • Maintain an unlisted number • Get a cell phone and keep it with you • Get a dog

43. SAFETY TIPS FOR VICTIMS • Vary your travel routes • Avoid traveling alone • Inform a trusted neighbor about the situation • NEVER give out your home address • Block your address at the DMV and your voter registration • Treat any threat as legitimate • Document everything

44. STALKING INCIDENT and BEHAVIOR LOG Stalking Incident and Behavior Log furnished by Stalking Resource Center, http://www.ncvc.org

45. DEVELOP A SAFETY PLAN • Quick access to critical telephone numbers • Keep accessible reserve of necessities

46. CYBERSTALKING

47. Cyberstalking - Use of the Internet, e-mail, or other telecommunication technologies to harass or stalk another person.

48. METHODS/TECHNIQUESUSED • Send unsolicited e-mails • Use live chat harassment • Start rumors • Set up a web page • Assume the victim’s persona on-line

49. CYBERSTALKING AND TEENS • On-line predators will contact 77% of youths by the age of 14, and 22% of children ages 10 to 13 will be approached. • In the U.S., 1 out of 5 teens who regularly log on to the Internet have received unwanted sexual material through the web.

50. Survey of law enforcement agencies: • 5% of molesters pretend to be peers. • Most abusers messaged on-line with future victims for more than a month. • When teenagers do meet the adults, sex or oral sex almost always occurs. • Although molesters favor girls, about a quarter of the arrests were for abusing teen boys.