Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 2
TYPES OF STALKERS ................................................................................................................................... 2
IDENTIFICATION (Method is Survey on 100 People)................................................................................... 3
OBJECTIVE ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE ................................................................................................................................ 6
Canada ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
United Kingdom ........................................................................................................................................ 7
India .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
 Stalking .............................................................................................................................................. 7
JUDICIAL OUTLOOK ....................................................................................................................................... 8
According to HINDUSTAN TIMES Newspaper:-......................................................................................... 8
Stalking is now a crime, will invite three years in jail .................................................................................. 8
According to a report of INDIAN EXPRESS:- .............................................................................................. 9
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION ..................................................................................................................... 11
REFERANCE ................................................................................................................................................. 12
STATUTES ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Indian Penal Code, 1860. .................................................................................................................... 12
ONLINE SOURCES .................................................................................................................................... 12
SURVEY .................................................................................................................................................... 12
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-62S5GXPN/ .................................................................... 12

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 INTRODUCTION

 Stalking is unwanted or obsessive attention by an individual or group towards another

person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include
following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term stalking is used, with some
differing definitions, in psychiatry and psychology and also in some legal jurisdictions as
a term for a criminal offense.

 According to a 2002 report by the U.S. National Center for Victims of Crime, "virtually
any unwanted contact between two people that directly or indirectly communicates a
threat or places the victim in fear can be considered stalking,” although in practice the
legal standard is usually somewhat more strict.

 As time went by, the meaning of stalking changed and incorporated individuals being
harassed by their former partners. PATHE and MULLEN describe stalking as "a
constellation of behaviours in which an individual inflicts upon another repeated
unwanted intrusions and communications". Stalking can be defined as the willful and
repeated following, watching and or harassing of another person. Unlike other crimes,
which usually involve one act, stalking is a series of actions that occur over a period of
time.

TYPES OF STALKERS
In "A Study of Stalkers" MULLEN identified five types of stalkers:

 Rejected stalkers pursue their victims in order to reverse, correct, or avenge a rejection
(e.g. divorce, separation, termination).
Have you been stalked by someone you have
had an intimate relationship with-i.e an ex…
YES
NO
44%
56%

 Resentful stalkers pursue a vendetta because of a sense of grievance against the victims
– motivated mainly by the desire to frighten and distress the victim.
 Intimacy seekers seek to establish an intimate, loving relationship with their victim.
Such stalkers often believe that the victim is a long-sought-after soul mate, and they were
'meant' to be together.
 Incompetent suitors, despite poor social or courting skills, have a fixation, or in some
cases, a sense of entitlement to an intimate relationship with those who have attracted

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 their amorous interest. Their victims are most often already in a dating relationship with
someone else.
 Predatory stalkers spy on the victim in order to prepare and plan an attack – often
sexual – on the victim.

Have you been stalked by

USE OTHER PEOPLE OTHER
TO GET TO U 10%
8%
LETTERS OR GIFTS PHONE CALLS
5% 28%
WATCHING AND SOCIAL NETWORK
FOLLOWING SITES
26% 23%

IDENTIFICATION (Method is Survey on 100 People)

1. Have you been or Are you being

Stalked
NOT SURE
38%
YES
62%

 STALKING can affect a person MENTALLY as well as PHYSICALLY.

EFFECTS OF STALKING are :-

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 Many people don't identify what's
happening to them as stalking, particularly in
the early stages. Have you been alarmed ,
distressed or frightened by someone's
unwanted,repeated behaviors towards you?

NO
47% YES
53%

 Denial, confusion, self-doubt, questioning if what is happening is unreasonable,

wondering if they are over-reacting.
 Frustration.
 Guilt, embarrassment, self-blame.
 Apprehension, fear, terror of being alone or that they, others or pets will be harmed.

Did the person's behavior make you afraid

that violence would be used against you?
NO YES
48% 52%


 Feeling isolated and helpless to stop the harassment.
 Depression (all symptoms related to depression).
 Anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia (frightened to leave the house, never feeling safe).
 Difficulty concentrating, attending and remembering things.

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 Did their actions have a negative impact on
your usual day to day activities ?
NO YES
47% 53%

 Inability to sleep – nightmares, ruminating.
 Irritability, anger, homicidal thoughts.
 Emotional numbing.
 Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress disorder e.g. hypervigilance (always on the lookout),
flashbacks of frightening incidents, easily startled.
 OTHER THAN THESE:-
The country’s “rape capital” is a favourite hunting ground for stalkers as well.

A dozen women on an average complained to police every 24 hours about STALKER.

Through 2014, there were 4,700 complaints of stalking, 674 relating to voyeurism and 6,400 assaults to
strip women.

Apart from this, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 22,000 other
complaints relating to sexual harassment at workplace, streets, public transport and elsewhere.

Nearly 40% of all stalking cases in the country took place in Uttar Pradesh (835), Maharashtra (797) and
Delhi (541). Andhra Pradesh (504) and Telangana (426) – the state carved out of Andhra in June last
year.

OBJECTIVE

 Stalking is the willful, malicious, and repeated following or harassing of another person
that threatens his or her safety.

 Stalkers usually suffer from psychotic disorders or severe personality disorders.

Psychotic stalkers usually show primary erotomania , schizophrenia, and mood disorders.
Those with severe personality disorders have narcissistic, borderline, or antisocial
personality disorders. Many also have associated substance abuse disorders.

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  Usually, the victims of stalkers are not aware of the stalker's identity and there are some
rare cases of false allegations of being stalked.

 Many such victims of stalkers change their jobs, move location, have secret telephone
numbers, invest in house alarms, and carry weapons or firearms to protect themselves.
Some develop post-traumatic stress disorders after a period of intense suffering.

 Typically, stalking behavior includes the following the victim and entering the victim's
home. They persecute their victims by unwanted advances, frequent telephone calls,
letters, email, mobile messages, graffiti, notes, and gifts. Severely aggressive behavior
can lead to assault, kidnapping, and even murder sometimes of the love object but at
other times of an acquaintance seen as a rival.
 Both stalkers and victims need special treatments.

 In Germany, appropriate laws for stalking such as the harassment protection act are being
examined. In the state of Massachusetts, stalking is a punishable offence.

 Recently, in India, a high ranking government official was a victim of staking. This led to
the erotomanic stalker being sent for psychiatric evaluation. The stalker took legal action
against the government official. During the court proceedings, it was brought to light that
there were no laws for stalking in India.

 Hence, penal, legal, and mental health professional should be made aware of the
psychiatric aspects of stalking and its appropriate management.

 Considering the safety of the victims and the need for psychiatric intervention of the
stalker, it is appropriate that laws for stalking should be laid down in the India.

LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE

Canada
 Section 264 of the Criminal Code, titled "criminal harassment",[42] addresses acts which
are termed "stalking" in many other jurisdictions. The provisions of the section came into
force in August 1993 under which It is a hybrid offence, which may be punishable upon
summary conviction or as an indictable offence, the latter of which may carry a prison
term of up to ten years.

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United Kingdom
 Already before the enactment of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the Malicious
Communications Act 1988 and the Telecommunications Act 1984 (now the
Communications Act 2003), criminalised indecent could be dealt with under pre-existing
law with life imprisonment available for the worst events.

India
 In 2013, Indian Parliament made amendments to the Indian Penal Code, introducing
stalking as a criminal offence. A man committing the offence of stalking would be liable
for imprisonment up to three years for the first offence, and shall also be liable to fine and
for any subsequent conviction would be liable for imprisonment up to five years and with
fine.

IPC 354D: Section 354D of the Indian Penal Code

 Stalking
 Any man who—

1. follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal
interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or
2. monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic
communication, commits the offence of stalking;

Provided that such conduct shall not amount to stalking if the man who pursued it proves that—

1. it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime and the man accused of
stalking had been entrusted with the responsibility of prevention and detection of crime
by the State; or
2. it was pursued under any law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by
any person under any law; or
3. in the particular circumstances such conduct was reasonable and justified.

 (2) Whoever commits the offence of stalking shall be punished on first conviction with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall
also be liable to fine; and be punished on a second or subsequent conviction, with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall
also be liable to fine.

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JUDICIAL OUTLOOK

Nowadays STALKING is a biggest offence which is the main cause root of every criminal
offence against women like: Rape, Acid attacks etc. BUT there is no courage in anyone to take
strict step against this.

According to HINDUSTAN TIMES Newspaper:-

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Stalking is now a crime, will invite three years in jail

 Stalking — physical or electronic via phone calls, text messages or emails — is now a
criminal offence, punishable with one to three years in jail.
 The provision is part of the law that came into force after President Pranab Mukherjee on
February 3 signed an ordinance, which widened the scope and ambit of the laws dealing
with sexual violence against women.
 The ordinance included a number of recommendations of the Justice JS Verma panel, set
up in the aftermath of the Delhi gang rape to suggest changes in the law for quicker trial
and harsher punishment for offences against women.
 The panel said "offences such as stalking, voyeurism and eve-teasing are perceived as
minor offences, but if not checked, these lead to a growing culture towards serious
offences like rape".
 The panel, which submitted its report on January 23, called for immediate curb on
the misuse of technology for harassing women.

 Stalking no longer means just causing distress to someone by following the person or
forcibly interacting with them. It now also includes unwanted telephone calls, sending
derogatory SMS or emails that “disturb the peace of mind of any individual”.
 Those guilty of these offences will also have to pay hefty fines.
 "Whoever monitors the use by a person of the internet, email or any other form of
electronic communication that results in a fear of violence, or interferes with the mental
peace of such person, commits the offence of stalking," says the Indian Penal Code.
 Misuse of electronic communication to harass someone and hacking into someone's email
account would be a criminal offence as well, said a government official.

 1
Nagendar Sharma, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

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According to a report of INDIAN EXPRESS:-

 Delhi stalker case: Stalking is a crime, but is anybody interested in

enforcing the Law?

 Three years after the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was amended to designate stalking as a
serious crime, stalkers continue to claim victims with impunity. Worse, incidences of
stalking have phenomenally increased over the last two years. Clearly, law-enforcement
agencies have a lot to answer for because they seem plainly unaware of the amended
legislation passed by Parliament in February 2013.

 The amendment came just a year after a medical student was gang-raped in the heart of
Delhi, jolting the conscience of the general public and legislators alike.

 This was the background against which stalking came to be identified and designated as a
serious crime. But the effort, it seems, has come to no avail.
 Consider the latest, shocking statistics: Within 48 hours, three women in the National
Capital were attacked by stalkers. Two of the victims died while the third is reported to
be in a critical condition.
 What we instead encounter is the same deadening social and political indifference to the
routinisation of violence against women. The alarming depths of lack of social empathy
can be surmised in light of the fact that one of the deadly attacks in questions occurred.
The onlookers watched on but did little to save Karuna, the victim. The 21-year-old
woman was stabbed at least 22 times with a pair of scissors, in the glare of public
scrutiny.
 “In the CCTV footage, Aditya (the stalker) is seen repeatedly stabbing Karuna on the
torso while dragging her on the road. The footage also shows several people stop and
stare before fleeing the spot. After being stabbed about a dozen times, Karuna falls and a
passerby tries to intervene, but is driven away by Aditya, who continues to stab her
motionless body.
 Besides, in light of the gravity of the crime and it escalation, Minister of State for Home
Affairs Kiren Rijiju’s remark — “What has happened is very sad” — sounds both weak
and inadequate
.
 : “If the ‘rape capital’ tag was not embarrassing enough, according to the latest data from
the National Crime Records Bureau. Stalking cases more than doubled in the city last
year, jumping from 541 in 2014 to 1,124 in 2015. That put Delhi in second spot among
all states.”2
 These considerations bring us back to the question raised at the beginning. What good are
laws if the will to enforce them is forever absent? Our legislators would like to claim

2
According to a report published in the Times of India this August,2016
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 credit for passing progressive laws. But the continued weak enforcement defeats the very
purpose of such laws. The matter of strict enforcement cannot simply be the civil
society’s responsibility.
 The law enforcement machinery has to be made accountable to the people. Most
important, the political class has to prioritise violence against women as a top concern.
Unfortunately, the tendency of the executive and the legislature so far has been to ignore
gender-based crimes, unless and until they lead to massive public outcry. Without a sea-
change in our collective, national mindsets, India will never be able to truly ensure
gender justice in all spheres of life.

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CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION

STALKING is the main cause root for the every criminal offence against Women. There are so many cases
of stalking in India. Many women are the victims of stalking but still there is no law in strict legal sense in
the country. Rapes, Acid Attacks, Snatching, Murder and many more offences starting with STALKING
are increasing day by day.

Government should take strict steps against this problems. Women are not safe because of this thing.
There should be strict law and that law can be enforced, Strict laws can be made by legislature and that
can be well interpreted by judiciary so that this problem can solve otherwise this is very difficult to
remove criminal activities from the country done by the stalkers.

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REFERANCE

STATUTES
Indian Penal Code, 1860.

ONLINE SOURCES

www.hindustannews.com

www.indiankanoon.com

www.scaredofsomeone.org

www.victimoftime.org

www.criminalsupport.org.uk

SURVEY
https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-62S5GXPN/

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