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Stalking is generally defined as any unwanted contact that communicates a threat or places the victim in fear.\u00a0 Stalking can happen within an intimate partner relationship, in connection with sexual violence, or by itself. Stalkers are often obsessed with their victims. A stalker may monitor a victim\u2019s actions including their whereabouts, conversations with other people, and technology use. The stalker\u2019s motivation typically is to gain and maintain control over the victim. Some individuals may use stalking as a way to try to re-establish a former intimate relationship or to feel connected to a person with whom they do not and\/or cannot have a relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAW) survey found that\u00a076% of female stalking murder victims had been stalked by their intimate partner.\u00a0 Of the women surveyed who had been stalked by an intimate partner:<\/p>\n
Stalking victims often live in constant fear that at any moment their safety and lives may be threatened. Never knowing when the threat may become a violent reality, stalking victims commonly experience anxiety, severe depression, social isolation, and insomnia causing significant disruption and alteration of daily life. Helping stalking victims find safety requires a coordinated community response.<\/p>\n
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Legal definitions of stalking vary from state to state. In Massachusetts, there are laws that address stalking behavior and patterns and provide legal and civil recourse for victims.<\/p>\n
MA General Laws, Chapter 265: Section 43:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> Under Massachusetts\u2019 stalking law, stalking is defined in two parts. First, stalking is a willful and malicious pattern of conduct that seriously alarms and would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress.\u00a0 Second, like many other states, Massachusetts\u2019 stalking law also requires that a stalker directly threaten a victim.\u00a0\u00a0In the National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey, fewer than half of all stalking victims reported that their stalkers directly threatened them. This second requirement of the law makes proving a stalking case more difficult and excludes a large number of stalking victims from filing charges.<\/p>\n MA General Law, Chapter 265, Section 43A:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> To address this gap, Massachusetts passed a criminal harassment law in 2000 intended to protect stalking victims in cases where there is no clear threat made by the stalker. The law allows for prosecution of \u201ccriminal harassment\u201d when a stalker engages in a pattern of harassing conduct but does not directly threaten the victim.\u00a0 Now, even victims who are not specifically threatened may see their cases prosecuted in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n MA General Law, Chapter 258, Section E:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0This law closed an unacceptable and dangerous gap in protection for victims who did not meet the relationship requirements of a domestic violence restraining order under MGL c.209A. The Harassment Prevention Order under 258E closely mirrors the protections offered by MGL c.209A.\u00a0 It\u00a0provides a civil remedy for victims of stalking, harassment or sexual assault, requiring the offender to stay away from and to not contact the victim.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”floating button” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” positioning=”fixed” position_origin_f=”center_right” z_index=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/weather.com\/” button_text=”Exit Site” button_alignment=”right” admin_label=”EXIT button” _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#f2621f” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Content” _builder_version=”4.16″ header_4_font=”AbrilSemiBold||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The increased use of technology in our daily lives has provided stalkers another means for finding, contacting, and harassing their victims. While using technology to stalk does not involve physical contact, it is no less threatening than physical stalking.<\/p>\n Stalking via technology can take many forms, such as:<\/p>\nStalking and technology<\/h4>\n