Erotomanic Stalkers Essay
and whether or not actual threatening actions were enacted (e.g., Cass, 2011; Dennison & Thomson, 2005; Kinkade, Burns, & Fuentes, 2005; Scott & Sheridan, 2011).
Types of Stalkers Erotomanic victims are usually men. This is the opposite of the general population of stalkers and victims. Erotomanic stalkers may continue to contact their victim for up to nineteen months and may maintain their obsession for up to 125 months. These stalkers are most likely to initiate contact by writing letters, making telephone calls, and appearing at their victim's home, although these visits do not necessarily involve face-to-face contact. The erotomanic stalker is the least likely to become violent because this type of stalker rarely initiates face-to-face …show more content…
contact with the object of his obsession.
Love Obsessional: Stalkers Love obsessional stalkers, like erotomanic stalkers rarely have a prior personal relationship with their victim. However, unlike erotomanic stalkers, love obsessional stalkers are most often men who suffer from an additional mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, bipolar, affective disorder, or schizophrenia, bipolar , affective disorder. Additionally, unlike erotomanic stalkers, love obsessional stalkers do not believe that their victim loves them. Women are typically the victims of love obsessional stalkers. These stalkers may contact their victim for up to nine months, although they may maintain their obsession for up to twelve years. Love obsessional stalkers most often contact their victim through letters and phone calls. Simple Obsessional: Stalkers The most dangerous type of stalker is the simple obsessional stalker. He is usually a male who has had a prior relationship with his victim, who is most often a female. The prior relationship between the stalker and the victim need not have been intimate. The stalker could have been anything from a casual acquaintance to a former lover. The outstanding characteristic of this group is that the stalking behavior is almost always triggered by a single event, either the termination of the relationship or the perception by the stalker that the victim is mistreating him. As a result of the triggering event, the stalker seeks either to restore the relationship or to exact retribution upon the victim. The simple obsessional stalker is the most dangerous type of stalker because he is the most likely of the three types to engage in person-to-person confrontation and to destroy the victim's property or physically harm the victim.
Where does stalking usually come from? Given that stalking often emerges during or after romantic relationships, it is not surprising that the public in general commonly possesses inaccurate views of the crime.
Scenario research generally indicates that strangers who engaged in unwanted pursuit or harassment behavior were more likely to be labeled stalkers, compared to prior romantic intimates (Kinkade et al., 2005; Scott, Lloyd, & Gavin, 2010; Sheridan & Lyndon,2012). Other scenario research indicates that behaviors constituting illegal stalking were often not recognized as such because they did not seem to fit with people’s stereotypes of stalking (Ngo, 2012). For example, only 30% of college students recognized a relatively clear case of cyber stalking as such (Alexy, Burgess, Baker, & Smoyak, 2005). In the U.S., when justice center and victim services professionals were presented with two stalking scenarios, only 25–52% recommended calling the police (Logan, Walker, Stewart, & Allen, 2006). In a large-scale survey, Tjaden, Thoennes, and Allison (2000) found that the majority (60%) of women who self-identified as stalking victims did not meet the legal definition for stalking for lack of meeting the typical legal “fear requirement”(p. 13). If even victims of stalking lack accurate conceptions of the crime, it raises the question of how existing conceptions of the crime may be socially constructed by the
media.
California’s Legislation and Anti-stalking Statutes Adopted by the San Diego County is the latest illustrations of the California legislative laws when it pertains to protect the stalker victims, was enacted in the last quarter of 2015 that state the following:
AB 1081: Modifies the requirements of notice to a respondent in a temporary restraining order for harassment which includes stalking that if the respondent is not present at the hearing an order can be enter for up to five years versus the three years under current law at that time. At the same time in the third quarter In the county adopted the enacted laws:
AB 231- States that an inmate that is release on parole or post-supervision will not be allowed within 35 miles of the victim or the workplace of the victim and if the victim or witness request more distance pending on the safety, life threatening situation and review of the supervising county or agency the distance could be even greater.
AB 418 -That protects tenants that have been victims of stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence to terminate their lease with a landlord. Also reduces the number of notice days to landlord from 30 to 14 prior to the termination.
SB 196-Authorizes a county adult protective services to file a petition for a protective order on behalf of the elder or dependent adult who has suffered abuse and has an impaired ability to appreciate and understand the circumstances that place him or her at risk or harm. This order protects the from stalking, abuse, intimidating, attacking, molesting, threatening striking, sexually assaulting, battery, harassing, telephoning, including but not limited to, making annoying telephone calls as described in section 653m of the Penal Code, destroying personal property, contacting, directly or indirectly, by mail or otherwise, or coming within a specified distance (mandated by the county court), or disturbing the peace of the petitioner. Temporary Restraining Orders Prior to the enactment of California's anti-stalking law, the temporary restraining order ("TRO") was the most widely used of the available tools and is still an important part of the protection and prosecution process today. A TRO is a protective court order that prohibits a stalker from further harassing the victim. Such protective orders can serve as the first formal notice to the stalker that his behavior is unwelcome and that further harassing behavior will be regarded as criminal. In order to obtain a TRO, the victim must first demonstrate that the harassment would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress. Second, the victim must demonstrate that she actually suffered emotional distress. Until recently, a TRO was necessary to the stalking prosecution process. Today, however, a first stalking offense may be prosecuted as' a misdemeanor or a felony, regardless of whether a restraining order is in effect. The first stalking offense is known as a "wobbler" because the prosecuting attorney has discretion to charge the offense as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the offense. If a restraining order is in effect when the stalking behavior occurs, the statute removes the prosecuting attorney's discretion and the crime must be charged as a felony, carrying a penalty of incarceration in state prison for up to four years. For enforcement of restraining orders to be effective, victims must be informed of their rights both at the time they seek and after they have obtained a TRO. Also, the courts must monitor compliance by the stalker, victims must report violations, and police, prosecutors, and judges must respond sternly to reported violations. As a result, the burden of effective protection falls on many shoulders, not just those of the police or prosecutors. For this reason, TRO's may be very limited in their effectiveness. (See table 1 for stalking prosecution) Do stalking definition vary? The definitions vary only slightly from state to state with some states adding things like lying in wait, surveillance, or warnings from police officers. Stalking statutes have become very important legal devices that, with protective orders, can help shield people from the threatening or harassing behavior of others in a variety of circumstances. Most notably, celebrities have been the victims of stalking activity, when fans become obsessed with the object of their attention. Stalking may also occur when a jilted lover becomes obsessed with his or her ex-lover or spouse, or even when a person becomes obsessed with a complete stranger or co-worker. The crime can turn every day life into a nightmare for the victim of this crime.
Consequently states have been quick to enact laws that specifically protect victims from harassing or stalking activity, even if the defendant has not yet actually physically injured the victim.
Several states have particular requirements in order for enhanced penalties to apply. The enhanced stalking crimes are usually distinguished by their designations as either first and second degree, or felony and misdemeanor stalking. Most often, enhancements are if the victim is below a certain age, or if the defendant has violated a court order or protective order, or if a deadly weapon was used. (See table 2) Why some convicted stalkers can carry weapons?
Some states allow certain convicted stalkers to carry firearms. Due to the loopholes in the states legal systems that in some cases specify that for specific crimes convicted individuals can not carry them for ex: California, for example, prohibits the purchase and possession of firearms or ...( )Some of these laws include in their definitions of “domestic violence” and other specific violations. Chapter three will explain the results and analysis of this research paper and at the same time will provide a study conducted on the Psychological effects cause to a stalking victim (Traumatic Distress Among Support-Seeking Female Victims of Stalking, Jan H. Kamphuis, Ph.D., and Paul M.G. Emmelkamp, Ph.D.).
Types of Stalkers Erotomanic victims are usually men. This is the opposite of the general population of stalkers and victims. Erotomanic stalkers may continue to contact their victim for up to nineteen months and may maintain their obsession for up to 125 months. These stalkers are most likely to initiate contact by writing letters, making telephone calls, and appearing at their victim's home, although these visits do not necessarily involve face-to-face contact. The erotomanic stalker is the least likely to become violent because this type of stalker rarely initiates face-to-face …show more content…
contact with the object of his obsession.
Love Obsessional: Stalkers Love obsessional stalkers, like erotomanic stalkers rarely have a prior personal relationship with their victim. However, unlike erotomanic stalkers, love obsessional stalkers are most often men who suffer from an additional mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, bipolar, affective disorder, or schizophrenia, bipolar , affective disorder. Additionally, unlike erotomanic stalkers, love obsessional stalkers do not believe that their victim loves them. Women are typically the victims of love obsessional stalkers. These stalkers may contact their victim for up to nine months, although they may maintain their obsession for up to twelve years. Love obsessional stalkers most often contact their victim through letters and phone calls. Simple Obsessional: Stalkers The most dangerous type of stalker is the simple obsessional stalker. He is usually a male who has had a prior relationship with his victim, who is most often a female. The prior relationship between the stalker and the victim need not have been intimate. The stalker could have been anything from a casual acquaintance to a former lover. The outstanding characteristic of this group is that the stalking behavior is almost always triggered by a single event, either the termination of the relationship or the perception by the stalker that the victim is mistreating him. As a result of the triggering event, the stalker seeks either to restore the relationship or to exact retribution upon the victim. The simple obsessional stalker is the most dangerous type of stalker because he is the most likely of the three types to engage in person-to-person confrontation and to destroy the victim's property or physically harm the victim.
Where does stalking usually come from? Given that stalking often emerges during or after romantic relationships, it is not surprising that the public in general commonly possesses inaccurate views of the crime.
Scenario research generally indicates that strangers who engaged in unwanted pursuit or harassment behavior were more likely to be labeled stalkers, compared to prior romantic intimates (Kinkade et al., 2005; Scott, Lloyd, & Gavin, 2010; Sheridan & Lyndon,2012). Other scenario research indicates that behaviors constituting illegal stalking were often not recognized as such because they did not seem to fit with people’s stereotypes of stalking (Ngo, 2012). For example, only 30% of college students recognized a relatively clear case of cyber stalking as such (Alexy, Burgess, Baker, & Smoyak, 2005). In the U.S., when justice center and victim services professionals were presented with two stalking scenarios, only 25–52% recommended calling the police (Logan, Walker, Stewart, & Allen, 2006). In a large-scale survey, Tjaden, Thoennes, and Allison (2000) found that the majority (60%) of women who self-identified as stalking victims did not meet the legal definition for stalking for lack of meeting the typical legal “fear requirement”(p. 13). If even victims of stalking lack accurate conceptions of the crime, it raises the question of how existing conceptions of the crime may be socially constructed by the
media.
California’s Legislation and Anti-stalking Statutes Adopted by the San Diego County is the latest illustrations of the California legislative laws when it pertains to protect the stalker victims, was enacted in the last quarter of 2015 that state the following:
AB 1081: Modifies the requirements of notice to a respondent in a temporary restraining order for harassment which includes stalking that if the respondent is not present at the hearing an order can be enter for up to five years versus the three years under current law at that time. At the same time in the third quarter In the county adopted the enacted laws:
AB 231- States that an inmate that is release on parole or post-supervision will not be allowed within 35 miles of the victim or the workplace of the victim and if the victim or witness request more distance pending on the safety, life threatening situation and review of the supervising county or agency the distance could be even greater.
AB 418 -That protects tenants that have been victims of stalking, sexual assault, domestic violence to terminate their lease with a landlord. Also reduces the number of notice days to landlord from 30 to 14 prior to the termination.
SB 196-Authorizes a county adult protective services to file a petition for a protective order on behalf of the elder or dependent adult who has suffered abuse and has an impaired ability to appreciate and understand the circumstances that place him or her at risk or harm. This order protects the from stalking, abuse, intimidating, attacking, molesting, threatening striking, sexually assaulting, battery, harassing, telephoning, including but not limited to, making annoying telephone calls as described in section 653m of the Penal Code, destroying personal property, contacting, directly or indirectly, by mail or otherwise, or coming within a specified distance (mandated by the county court), or disturbing the peace of the petitioner. Temporary Restraining Orders Prior to the enactment of California's anti-stalking law, the temporary restraining order ("TRO") was the most widely used of the available tools and is still an important part of the protection and prosecution process today. A TRO is a protective court order that prohibits a stalker from further harassing the victim. Such protective orders can serve as the first formal notice to the stalker that his behavior is unwelcome and that further harassing behavior will be regarded as criminal. In order to obtain a TRO, the victim must first demonstrate that the harassment would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress. Second, the victim must demonstrate that she actually suffered emotional distress. Until recently, a TRO was necessary to the stalking prosecution process. Today, however, a first stalking offense may be prosecuted as' a misdemeanor or a felony, regardless of whether a restraining order is in effect. The first stalking offense is known as a "wobbler" because the prosecuting attorney has discretion to charge the offense as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the offense. If a restraining order is in effect when the stalking behavior occurs, the statute removes the prosecuting attorney's discretion and the crime must be charged as a felony, carrying a penalty of incarceration in state prison for up to four years. For enforcement of restraining orders to be effective, victims must be informed of their rights both at the time they seek and after they have obtained a TRO. Also, the courts must monitor compliance by the stalker, victims must report violations, and police, prosecutors, and judges must respond sternly to reported violations. As a result, the burden of effective protection falls on many shoulders, not just those of the police or prosecutors. For this reason, TRO's may be very limited in their effectiveness. (See table 1 for stalking prosecution) Do stalking definition vary? The definitions vary only slightly from state to state with some states adding things like lying in wait, surveillance, or warnings from police officers. Stalking statutes have become very important legal devices that, with protective orders, can help shield people from the threatening or harassing behavior of others in a variety of circumstances. Most notably, celebrities have been the victims of stalking activity, when fans become obsessed with the object of their attention. Stalking may also occur when a jilted lover becomes obsessed with his or her ex-lover or spouse, or even when a person becomes obsessed with a complete stranger or co-worker. The crime can turn every day life into a nightmare for the victim of this crime.
Consequently states have been quick to enact laws that specifically protect victims from harassing or stalking activity, even if the defendant has not yet actually physically injured the victim.
Several states have particular requirements in order for enhanced penalties to apply. The enhanced stalking crimes are usually distinguished by their designations as either first and second degree, or felony and misdemeanor stalking. Most often, enhancements are if the victim is below a certain age, or if the defendant has violated a court order or protective order, or if a deadly weapon was used. (See table 2) Why some convicted stalkers can carry weapons?
Some states allow certain convicted stalkers to carry firearms. Due to the loopholes in the states legal systems that in some cases specify that for specific crimes convicted individuals can not carry them for ex: California, for example, prohibits the purchase and possession of firearms or ...( )Some of these laws include in their definitions of “domestic violence” and other specific violations. Chapter three will explain the results and analysis of this research paper and at the same time will provide a study conducted on the Psychological effects cause to a stalking victim (Traumatic Distress Among Support-Seeking Female Victims of Stalking, Jan H. Kamphuis, Ph.D., and Paul M.G. Emmelkamp, Ph.D.).