Stalking and Violence: New Patterns of Trauma and Obsession
Stalking and Violence: New Patterns of Obsession and Trauma provides new perspectives on the prevalence, causes, and effects of stalking in intimate and non-intimate relations. Drawing on the results of a large random survey of restraining orders, this bo
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Stalking and Violence New Patterns of Trauma and Obsession
Stephen J. Morewitz Stephen J. Morewitz, Ph.D., & Associates and Chair, Crime and Delinquency Division The Society for the Study of Social Problems
KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS NEW YORK, BOSTON, DORDRECHT, LONDON, MOSCOW
eBook ISBN: Print ISBN:
0-306-47943-5 0-306-47365-8
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Preface
The concept of stalking, e.g., repeated and unwanted following, lying in wait, and other intrusive and harassing behaviors, did not come into public consciousness until the late 1980s (Meloy, 1999). The stalking of President Ronald Reagan, Rebecca Schaeffer, Jodie Foster, David Letterman, and Nicole Simpson were high-profile examples (Dietz, et al., 1991a; Dietz, et al., 1991b). The media played an instrumental role in transforming stalking into a social problem. Movies such as, Fatal Attraction, television and radio broadcasts, and the print media brought into public awareness the deadly consequences of stalking and the frustration and helplessness of stalking victims (Lowney & Best, 1995, pp. 33–57). Stalking is not a new phenomenon; in fact, a sub-type of stalking, erotomania, has been known and documented in ancient times. Erotomanics stalk their targets to fulfill a delusional belief or fantasy that their target is in love with them (Esquirol, 1838; de Clerambault, 1921; Zona, et al., 1993; Kurt, 1995, p. 223). Other stalkers hold paranoid and other delusional beliefs and will stalk and attempt to harm their targets as a result of these delusional beliefs (Dietz, et al., 1991a; Dietz, et al., 1991b). The stalking syndrome is not limited to erotomania and other severe pathologies, but encompasses many "normal" persons who for various reasons stalk their dates, acquaintances, spouses, and other family members (NIJ, 1998; Kurt, 1995, p. 225; Hamburger & Hastings, 1986).
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PREFACE
The 1989 murder of Rebecca Schaeffer led to the enactment of the first anti-stalking law in California in 1990. California's antistalking statute became a model for other states. Public outcry over stalking led to U. S. Congressional hearings and the enactment of anti-stalking laws at the state and federal levels. Community-based and Internet-based organizations were formed to deal with the problems posed by stalkers. The federal government established a model stalking code to assist states in developing constitutional and enforceable laws. The increased access to the Internet also resulted in public concern about stalkers, pedophiles, and other predators online, and twenty-six states now have laws against electronic stal
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