| Fact Sheet Mindy Mechanic, Ph.D. National Violence Against
Women Prevention Research Center University of Missouri at St.
Louis Stalking: Define the Crime a repetitive pattern of
unwanted, harassing or threatening behavior committed by one
person against another. Acts include: telephone harassment,
being followed, receiving unwanted gifts, and other similar
forms of intrusive behavior. All states and the Federal
Government have passed anti-stalking legislation. Definitions of
stalking found in state anti-stalking statutes vary in their
language, although most define stalking as "the willful,
malicious, and repeated following and harassing of another
person that threatens his or her safety" (1). common is
Stalking? Violence Against Women Survey (NVAW) is a landmark
study that collected information about stalkingm a nationally
representative sample of 8,000 women and 8,000 men across the
United States (2). The survey found that 8% of women and 2% of
men have been stalked at some time during their lives. This