Introduction

Stalkers and stalking are words that have acquired new connotations by being increasingly applied to individuals who persistently pursue, or otherwise intrude on, others. Stalking has emerged as a social problem that not only commands considerable public attention but is now, in many jurisdictions, a specific form of criminal offence. Stalking is increasingly attracting clinical and research interest among behavioural scientists and mental health professionals.

The word ‘stalk’ has the meaning of both the act of following one's prey and walking stealthily. To label someone a stalker has been, at least from the sixteenth century, to imply that he or she is a prowler or a poacher (Oxford English Dictionary, 1971). When the media appropriated the word to describe those who pestered and harassed others they provided a new focus for this ancient indictment.

‘Stalking’ is now part of our culture's language. It has become a category with which we describe and understand our experiences. If someone is repeatedly followed by a stranger, or is distressed at receiving numerous unwanted letters from an estranged partner then, in today's world, they are likely to describe themselves as being stalked. Looking back over their life they may now recall having been stalked in the past. At the time they might have described the experience as having been persistently pestered but now, retrospectively, it is recognized as their having been stalked.