Skip to main content

Forget me Not: Stalkers, Modus Operandi and Perceived Motivations

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Victims of Stalking

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology ((PSVV))

Abstract

Are stalkers mentally ill and pathologically obsessed with their idols and objects of attention? Are they jealous and possessive prior intimate partners seeking to re-establish a relationship or take revenge and control over their partners? This chapter contextualises the experiences of the victims who were interviewed for my study by providing basic demographic information and a discussion of the contextual and motivational characteristics of their pursuit. Victims provided interesting and often insightful observations and interpretations about their stalkers, the methods and tools the latter used to unsettle, disempower and intimidate them and the potential motivations of their behaviour. Their accounts indicate that stalkers comprise a rather heterogenous group of perpetrators, they often use a wide range of tactics and tools to harass and destabilise their targets and their motivations may range from seeking attention and making their presence felt to taking revenge and reasserting power and control.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, C. A., & Anderson, K. B. (2008). Men Who Target Women: Specificity of Target, Generality of Aggressive Behavior. Aggressive Behavior, 34(6), 605–622.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ballinger, A. (2007). Masculinity in the Dock: Legal Responses to Male Violence and Female Retaliation in England and Wales, 1900–1965. Social and Legal Studies, 16(4), 459–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BBC News. (2017). Stalked Vicar Says Lancashire Police Made It “Worse”. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-42027996. Accessed 20 Nov 2017.

  • BBC News. (2019). He Said He Was Close Enough to Smell My Hair. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47852849. Accessed 9 Apr 2019.

  • Bendlin, M., & Sheridan, L. (2019). Nonfatal Strangulation in a Sample of Domestically Violent Stalkers: The Importance of Recognising Coercively Controlling Behaviors. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 46(11), 1528–1541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjerregaard, B. (2000). An Empirical Study of Stalking Victimization. Violence and Victims, 15(4), 389–406.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Björklund, K., Häkkänen-Nyholm, H., Sheridan, L., & Roberts, K. (2009). The Prevalence of Stalking Among Finnish University Students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(4), 684–698.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, E., & Tyrrell, K. (2018). Understanding Revenge Pornography: A National Survey of Police Officers and Staff in England and Wales. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bosman, J., Taylor, K., & Arango, T. (2019). A Common Trait Among Mass Shooters: Hatred Towards Women. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/10/us/mass-shootings-misogyny-dayton.html. Accessed 14 Aug 2019.

  • Brewster, M. (1998). An Exploration of the Experiences and Needs of Former Intimate Stalking Victims. Final Report Submitted to the National Institute of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Budd, T., & Mattinson, J. (2000). The Extent and the Nature of Stalking: Findings from the 1998 British Crime Survey. London: Home Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, A. W., Baker, T., Greening, D., Hartman, C. R., Burgess, A. G., Douglas, J. E., & Halloran, R. (1997). Stalking Behaviours Within Domestic Violence. Journal of Family Violence, 12(4), 389–403.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J., & Moore, R. (2011). Self-Perceptions of Stalking Victimization and Impacts on Victim Reporting. Police Practice and Research, 12(6), 506–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catanesi, R., Carabellese, F., La Tegola, D., & Alfarano, E. (2013). Coexistence and Independence Between a Mental Disorder and Female Stalking. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 58(1), 251–254.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, S., & Parrott, D. (2009). Exploring a Taxonomy for Aggression Against Women: Can It Aid Conceptual Clarity? Aggressive Behavior, 35, 462–476.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crossman, K. A., Hardesty, J. L., & Raffaelli, M. (2016). “He Could Scare Me Without Laying Hand on Me”: Mothers’ Experiences of Nonviolent Coercive Control During Marriage and After Separation. Violence Against Women, 22(4), 454–473.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. E., Ace, A., & Andra, M. (2000). Stalking Perpetrators and Psychological Maltreatment of Partners: Anger-Jealousy, Attachment Insecurity, Need for Control, and Break-Up Context. Violence and Victims, 15(4), 407–425.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, K. E., Coker, A. L., & Sanderson, M. (2002). Physical and Mental Health Effects of Being Stalked for Men and Women. Violence and Victims, 17(4), 429–443.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day, E. (2013, February 17). The Stalking Cure. The Guardian, pp. 17–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobash, R. E., Dobash, R. P., & Cavanagh, K. (2009). “Out of the Blue”: Men Who Murder an Intimate Partner. Feminist Criminology, 4(3), 194–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, M. (2016). There Are Hundreds of Stalkers No One Sees. The Times. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/there-are-hundreds-of-stalkers-no-one-sees-prjlczhxrsg. Accessed 14 Feb 2016.

  • Duntley, J. D., & Buss, D. M. (2012). The Evolution of Stalking. Sex Roles, 66(5–6), 311–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, R. (2009). Stalker Executed Mother with a Cattle Gun Hours After She Called the Police for Help. The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6538979/Stalker-executed-mother-with-a-cattle-gun-hours-after-she-had-called-police-for-help.html. Accessed 13 Nov 2009.

  • Farnham, F. R., James, D. V., & Cantrell, P. (2000). Association Between Violence, Psychosis, and Relationship to Victim in Stalkers. The Lancet, 355(9199), 199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fine, R. (1997). Being Stalked: A Memoir. London: Chatto and Windus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fletcher, H. (2011, October). Stalking and Harassment—A Study of Perpetrators. A Briefing from NAPO the Trade Union and Professional Association for Family Court and Probation Staff. London: NAPO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freidl, W., Neuberger, I., Schönberger, S., & Raml, R. (2011). Stalking und Gesundheit – eine österreichische Prävalenzstudie [Stalking and Health—An Austrian Prevalence Study]. Gesundheitswesen, 73(4), 264–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fremouw, W. J., Westrup, D., & Pennypacker, J. (1997). Stalking on Campus: The Prevalence and Strategies for Coping with Stalking. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 42(4), 14178J.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, C. B. (2000). Stalking. In B. D. Clifton (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior (Vol. II, pp. 480–482). Philadelphia, PA; Hove: Brunner/Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelsthorpe, L., & Morris, A. (1988). Feminism and Criminology in Britain. British Journal of Criminology, 28(2), 93–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodmark, L. (2018). Decriminalizing Domestic Violence. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, D. M. (1998). The Victims of Stalking. In J. R. Meloy (Ed.), The Psychology of Stalking (pp. 113–137). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, B. A., & Woodlock, D. (2019). Digital Coercive Control: Insights from Two Landmark Domestic Violence Studies. British Journal of Criminology, 59(3), 530–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S., & Jeffries, S. (2015). Romantic Terrorism: An Auto-Ethnography of Domestic Violence, Victimisation and Survival. Basingstoke; New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keale, A. (with Jane Smith). (2017). If You Love Me. London: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuehner, C., Gass, P., & Dressing, H. (2012). Mediating Effects of Stalking Victimization on Gender Differences in Mental Health. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(2), 199–221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kurbjuweit, D. (2018). Fear (I. Taylor, Trans.). London: Orion Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2012). Gender and Stalking: Current Intersections and Future Directions. Sex Roles, 66, 418–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasdun, J. (2013). Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked. London: Jonathan Cape.

    Google Scholar 

  • Logan, T. K., & Cole, J. (2011). Exploring the Intersection of Partner Stalking and Sexual Abuse. Violence Against Women, 17(7), 904–924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, T. K., Shannon, L., Cole, J., & Swanberg, J. (2007). Partner Stalking and Implications for Women’s Employment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 268–291.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, T. K., & Walker, R. (2009). Psychological Dominance or “Business as Usual”? Trauma, Violence and Abuse, 10(3), 247–270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Løkkegaard, S. S., Hansen, N. B., Wolf, N. M., & Elklit, A. (2019). When Daddy Stalks Mommy: Experiences of Intimate Partner Stalking and Involvement of Social and Legal Authorities When Stalker and Victim Have Children Together. Violence Against Women, 25(14), 1759–1777.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lowney, K. S., & Best, J. (1995). Stalking Strangers and Lovers: Changing Media Typifications of a New Crime Problem. In J. Best (Ed.), Images of Issues: Typifying Contemporary Social Problems (2nd ed., pp. 33–57). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, K. R., Jackson, D. B., & Logan, T. K. (2019). Coercive Control, Stalking, and Guns: Professionals’ Perceived Risk of Potentially Fatal Intimate Partner Gun Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, K. R., & Logan, T. K. (2018). “You Better Say Your Prayers and Get Ready”: Guns Within the Context of Partner Abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33(4), 686–711.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malvern, J. (2018). I Am Terrified My Stalker Will Never Stop Harassing Me, Says Maitlis. The Sunday Times. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/im-terrified-my-stalker-will-never-stop-harassing-me-says-maitlis-zx5pc8kcp. Accessed 18 Jan 2018.

  • Marías, J. (2014). The Infatuations (M. J. Costa, Trans.). London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • McEwan, T. E., Mullen, P. E., MacKenzie, R. D., & Ogloff, J. R. P. (2009). Violence in Stalking Situations. Psychological Medicine, 39(9), 1469–1478.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McEwan, T. E., Mullen, P. E., & Purcell, R. (2007). Identifying Risk Factors in Stalking: A Review of Current Research. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 30, 1–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McFarlane, J., Campbell, J. C., & Watson, K. (2002). Intimate Partner Stalking and Femicide: Urgent Implications for Women’s Safety. Behavioural Sciences and the Law, 20(1–2), 51–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McVeigh, T. (2016, April 17). ‘I Was Asleep: He Steamed into the Bedroom and Started Screaming’: Lily Allen on Being Stalked, and How the Police Failed to Do Enough to Help. The Observer, pp. 8–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melton, H. C. (2007). Stalking in the Context of Intimate Partner Abuse: In the Victims’ Words. Feminist Criminology, 2(4), 347–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, L. (2012). Stalking: Patterns, Motives, and Intervention Strategies. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(6), 495–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. L., & Smolter, N. L. (2011). “Paper Abuse”: When All Else Fails, Batterers Use Procedural Stalking. Violence Against Women, 17(5), 637–650.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mohandie, K., Meloy, J. R., McGowan, M. G., & Williams, J. (2006). The RECON Typology of Stalking: Reliability and Validity Upon a Large Sample of North American Stalkers. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 51(1), 147–155.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, S., Anderson, S., & Murray, L. (2002). Stalking and Harassment in Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, K. A. (2008). Differentiating Between Physically Violent and Nonviolent Stalkers: An Examination of Canadian Cases. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 53(3), 742–751.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, P. E., Pathé, M., & Purcell, R. (2009). Stalkers and Their Victims (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nijdam-Jones, A., Rosenfeld, B., Gerbrandij, J., Quick, E., & Galietta, M. (2018). Psychopathology of Staking Offenders: Examining the Clinical, Demographic, and Stalking Characteristics of a Community-Based Sample. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(5), 712–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pathé, M., & Mullen, P. E. (1997). The Impact of Stalkers on Their Victims. British Journal of Psychiatry, 170(1), 12–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piper, K. (2011). Beautiful. London: Ebury Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, R., Pathé, M., & Mullen, P. E. (2002). The Prevalence and Nature of Stalking in the Australian Community. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 114–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, R., Pathé, M., & Mullen, P. E. (2005). Association Between Stalking Victimisation and Psychiatric Morbidity in a Random Community Sample. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187(5), 416–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, B. (2019). Cyberstalking Victim Urges Social Media Firms to Tackle Problem. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/25/cyberstalking-victim-urges-social-media-firms-tackle-problem-jessica-nordquist. Accessed 25 Feb 2019.

  • Reyns, B. W. (2019). Online Pursuit in the Twilight Zone: Cyberstalking Perpetration by College Students. Victims and Offenders, 14(2), 183–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyns, B. W., Henson, B., & Fisher, B. S. (2011). Being Pursued Online: Applying Cyberlifestyle-Routine Activities Theory to Cyberstalking Victimization. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(11), 1149–1169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyns, B. W., Henson, B., Fisher, B. S., Fox, K. A., & Nobles, M. R. (2016). A Gendered Lifestyle-Routine Activity Approach to Explaining Victimization in Canada. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(9), 1719–1743.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, D. G., Kurko, J. F., Barlow, K., & Crane, C. E. (2011). What Attracts Men Who Batter to Their Partners? An Exploratory Study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(14), 2747–2763.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger, L. B. (2006). Celebrity Stalking, Homicide and Suicide: A Psychological Autopsy. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50(1), 39–46.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheridan, L., Davies, G., & Boon, J. (2001). The Course and Nature of Stalking: A Victim Perspective. The Howard Journal, 40(3), 215–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, H. C., & Frieze, I. H. (2005). When Courtship Persistence Becomes Intrusive Pursuit: Comparing Rejecter and Pursuer Perspectives of Unrequited Attraction. Sex Roles, 52(11/12), 839–852.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. (2019). Home Grown: How Domestic Violence Turns Men into Terrorists. London: Quercus Editions Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smythe, A. (2019). Domestic Abusers ‘Sewing GPS Trackers into Teddy Bears’. BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47623436. Accessed 20 Mar 2019.

  • Stark, E. (2007). Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, E. (2013). The Dangers of Dangerousness Assessment. Journal of Family and Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly, 6(2), 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Storey, J. E., Hart, S. D., Reid Meloy, J., & Reavis, J. A. (2009). Psychopathy and Stalking. Law and Human Behaviour, 33(3), 237–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor-Dunn, H., Bowen, E., & Gilchrist, E. A. (2018). Reporting Harassment and Stalking to the Police: A Qualitative Study of Victims’ Experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Times. (2017, April 24). Failure to Act Against Stalkers Is Linked to Killings. The Times, p. 8.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Telegraph. (2019). Mechanic Saves Stalking Victim When He Finds Tracker Under Her Car During MoT. The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/11/mechanic-saves-stalking-victim-finds-tracker-car-mot/. Accessed 12 Jan 2019.

  • Thomas, K. A., Joshi, M., & Sorenson, S. B. (2014). “Do You Know What It Feels Like to Drown?”: Strangulation as Coercive Control in Intimate Relationships. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 38(1), 124–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, C. M., Stewart, A. L., & Dennison, S. M. (2020). Using Dynamic Contextual Factors to Better Understand the Etiology and Escalation of Stalking Violence. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(1), 99–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tidy, J. (2019). Stalkerware: The Software That Spies on Your Partner. BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-50166147. Accessed 25 Oct 2019.

  • Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (1998). Stalking in America: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington: National Institute of Justice and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weare, S. (2018). ‘I Feel Permanently Traumatized by It’: Physical and Emotional Impacts Reported by Men Forced to Penetrate Women in the United Kingdom. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, K. (2010). Male Sexual Victimisation: Examining Men’s Experiences of Rape and Sexual Assault. Men and Masculinities, 12, 275–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whyte, S., Petch, E., Penny, C., & Reiss, D. (2008). Who Stalks? A Description of Patients at a High Security Hospital with a History of Stalking Behaviour. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 18, 27–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zona, M. A., Sharma, K. K., & Lane, J. (1993). A Comparative Study of Erotomanic and Obsessional Subjects in a Forensic Sample. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 38(4), 894–903.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jenny Korkodeilou .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Korkodeilou, J. (2020). Forget me Not: Stalkers, Modus Operandi and Perceived Motivations. In: Victims of Stalking. Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47793-6_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics