WHAT MOTIVATES A STALKER?

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Stalkers can be driven by several different reasons, and most have stalked more than one person in their lifetime. Stalkers are obsessed with their victims, and this obsession is expressed in many ways. Some common reasons for this obsession include power, control, and sometimes revenge.

Most stalkers don’t take responsibility for their actions – they blame others for making them do what they do (check out DARVO for a better understanding http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/defineDARVO.html). Stalkers who have had intimate relationships with their victims have been shown to be much more aggressive and violent (both male and female perpetrators). Relationship violence perpetrators often stalk their victims during the course of the relationship and especially after the victim leaves the relationships.

Each year, 6.6 million people are stalked in the United States.  Women are nearly three times more likely to be stalked than men.  It is important to remember both men and women can be victims of stalking.  Nearly 3 in 4 victims know their offender in some capacity.▪ From Network of Victim Assistance http://www.novabucks.org/otherinformation/stalking/ 

WE NEED TO CHANGE THESE STATISTICS – WE NEED TO ALL PULL TOGETHER TO SAY THIS HAS GOT TO STOP, AND WE NEED TO MAKE ALL THE CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE IN ORDER TO PROTECT THESE VICTIMS – AS WELL AS OUR OWN LOVED ONES THAT COULD BECOME VICTIMS…NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE!

Morgan and her puppy Wylah May in August 2011

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Morgan posted this picture of her new little puppy Wylah May yesterday, August 2, 2011 – she was so excited to have her very own dog…we didn’t know on this day that their time together would not be very long.

My heart breaks now, every time I look through Morgan’s computer at all the things she saved, every single day, till the day she died.  She was always so busy, always researching, learning, taking pictures, and enjoying life – even while her stalker(s) tried taking that from her.

Morgan’s Horrific Stalking Started So Innocently

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August 2, 2011 –

We had just returned to our beautiful valley in Colorado, after vacationing with our 19-year-old daughter, Morgan.  On our drive back we had picked up her new puppy Wylah May.  Morgan had never had a puppy of her own, she was so excited about her little Australian Shepard.  She treated her puppy as though she were her own baby, spent every dime she earned on special food, toys, everything for this little puppy.  She brought her down to the river this very afternoon (it was one of her favorite spots to meditate), and her little puppy, Wylah May, seemed to love everything about the outdoors.  This evening Morgan drove into Carbondale to show her friends her new puppy –  when she arrived home later that evening she went directly into her room, days later she told her father and I that she had started to undress in her bathroom, in order to take a shower, and then heard tapping on her bathroom window.  Morgan’s bathroom window was made of obscured glass, so you could not see in, but someone outside could see the light go on, and possibly some shadows.  Morgan jumped, but then thought it must be a branch or a bird tapping the glass, so she disregarded the noise…this was the start of Morgan’s stalking…at least we thought this was the beginning.  Much later on we would learn, as in many other stalking victim’s cases, that it really started before any of us ever noticed.  Morgan had become a target of a stalker(s).

Click on ‘Next’ at the top of this post to view the next blog post, or click on https://morgansstalking.com/?p=407 to go to the next day of Morgan’s stalking.

Stranger Stalkers – from the Office of Women’s Programs and Studies ▪ Colorado State University

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Stranger Stalkers fixate on a particular victim, unannounced to that person. The stalker begins to make contact with the victim in a variety of ways that may initially seem harmless, but their continued presence generates fear and terror for the victim. “Peeping Toms” should not be taken lightly, and can pose a very real threat to their victims.

A survey of university undergraduates revealed that 20% had been stalked or harassed by a former dating partner. (Haugaar & Seri 2004) Stranger stalkers are fantasy oriented and obsessive, with definite personality and/or mental disorders. Cyber-stalkers and pedophiles are also types of stranger stalkers who may use the internet to gather information on their victims.

Stalking literally means to pursue prey or quarry. Legally, it is defined by state statutes, and is generally considered a course of conduct that places a person in fear for their safety.

In Colorado, stalking is defined as harassing someone (i.e., following, contacting, or watching another person) in a way that causes them to feel fearful (state statute C.R.S. 18-9-111). A first time offense is considered a Class 5 Felony, and a Class 4 Felony when there is a restraining order or injunction already in place.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, 1,006,970 women and 370,000 men are stalked annually in the United States. On college campuses, 3 in 10 college women report being injured emotionally or psychologically from being stalked, and 80% of campus stalking victims know their stalker.

Additional Resources

For excellent information on stalking, including stalking behavior logs, safety plan guidelines, and a complete handbook for victims, contact the National Center for Victims of Crime Stalking Resource Center online at www.ncvc.org, call 1-800-FYI-CALL (M-F 8:30 AM – 8:30 PM EST), or e-mail [email protected]