The Hypnotist's Love Story

The US Office for Victims of Crime defines stalking as a form of harassment that involves non-consensual communication and contact (“Stalking.” Office for Victims of Crime). Stalking can also involve physical or visual proximity, or consist of verbal messages that make the target fear for their safety. Psychology Today identifies stalking as continued behavior or contact that inflicts emotional distress (“Stalking.” Psychology Today).

Stalking is rarely an isolated incident but rather a repeated pattern of contact that persists even when the target has asked the stalker to stop. Most often, the principals have been involved in a relationship of some kind, though there are instances of celebrity stalking, when a person is motivated by an imagined connection. The Centers for Disease Control identifies stalking as a form of intimate partner violence when it takes place between principals who are currently or were previously involved in an intimate relationship. In some cases, incidents of stalking escalate to physical assault and, in the most extreme cases, murder.

Consequences for victims of stalking can include anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression. The OVC classifies stalking as a crime of power and control. According to the CDC, around 15% of women and 6% of men in the US have been the target of stalking at some point.