Stalking data reveals why behaviour should be taken seriously

A report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed the chilling reality for stalking victims and why these behaviours shouldn’t be ignored.

ABS stalking data from the 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey released on Wednesday has revealed one in five women and one in 15 men have been stalked.

 

Stalking is a serious crime despite, what some people may think, with newly released Australian Bureau of Statistics data highlighting the sheer potential of catastrophic effects on victims.

The results of the ABS stalking data from the 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey released on Wednesday has revealed one in five women, and one in 15 men, have been stalked.

Stalking involves varying behaviours which can include loitering or hanging around, following or tracking, maintaining unwanted contact by phone, post, email, text or social media.

To be considered stalking more than one type of behaviour has to occur, or the same type of behaviour on more than one occasion.

ABS head of crime and justice statistics William Milne said in a statement the survey found women were almost eight times more likely to be stalked by a male than by a female.

The survey revealed almost one million women reported being stalked by a male in the past ten years, with 78 per cent stalked by someone they knew.

stalking generic

Most commonly the perpetrator was an intimate partner which included current or former.

“Half of the women who were stalked by a male intimate partner were assaulted or threatened with assault by that same partner,” Mr Milne said.

University of Southern Queensland criminologist Suzanne Reich said stalking behaviours should be taken seriously given its potential to escalate to violence or even homicide.

“When you look at cases of intimate partner stalking, 50 per cent of those stalking incidents eventuated to assaults or threatened assaults,” Ms Reich said.

Dr Suzanne Reich, USQ Criminologist.

The psychological effect of stalking in victims can often send them into a state of hyper-vigilance.

“Being more cautious and aware can actually have a really big impact on someone’s day to day life,” she said.

“It can affect people’s social life especially when it comes to developing new relationships because a great deal of trust has been broken as a result of the stalking.”

The ABS data revealed 96 per cent of women who were stalked by a male in the past ten years reported difficulty completing household chores, eating and sleeping.

“Really to me these are trauma effects, this is what we see in people who have been traumatised,” Ms Reich said.

Ms Reich said oftentimes victims won’t report the incidents to police simply because they don’t consider it a serious crime.

“In fact it is a crime which can lead to some horrific outcomes, it’s really important to do something about it and not take the chance it might eventuate into something,” she said.

The eSafety commissioner has a number of resources to help protect your online safety, tools which Ms Reich strongly encourages.

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Stalking data reveals why behaviour should be taken seriously