I was watching the NBC Today Show episode this morning which depicted an 'stalking' episode -- tried to find the story and paste, yet unable.

However, I did find a similar article by UTA Magazine below:

http://utamagazine.uta.edu/spring_2003/discoveries/stalking.html

So very scary that the average stalking lasts two years. A woman interviewed on the Today Show said she knew that the only way the stalking would end is with her death.

Sadly, these are true stories, and there are many more, yet not always told due to fear of disclosure, of not being believed, lacking evidence, etc.

The Today Show episode did state to document, document, document and have a back up! Whether it be a journal, photos, film (my cell phone films in motion), recordings (sadly it is illegal to record in my state and cannot be used as evidence), witnesses, strange out-of-place occurences (slashed tires, broken windows, stolen mail, hang up phone calls, unsolicited mail or subscriptions, etc.). Having a friend or confidant is helpful, too.

Here's something we've never talked about in here before. Women stalking men. I hate to say it ladies, but it happens and it's usually for the same reasons. I think jealousy is probably one of the biggest issues. Don't you?

I think it is a power issue. Jealousy is a factor, but I believe it is a manifestation of the need for power over another person.

Yes, stalking is related to power. Not all victims of stalking recognize it as such, although coverage of the topic these days is helping to call it for what it is: a dangerous pursuit of another to gain control. I was stalked when I was 19 and vulnerable after the suicide of my father that year. My stalker happened to be 18 years older than me. I did not recognize the harassment, the getting closer, the showing up at my college, etc. as stalking. I did however recognize the danger, but equated it to love because my father had endangered his children. So, I thought danger was part of a loving relationship! How screwed up is that? We know only what we know at the time. This man's pursuit of me ended up in a marriage that nearly ended my life. Stalking escalates on the cointinuum to full-blown violence. I tell my story to relate to the topic so others can understand it more fully.

Staulking was non existent when I was trying to get my guy on that. The cops did not know how they were going to prove it with no witnesses etc. IT is a fine line. Very hard. I have several staulking reports in my goodie file.
It is VERY scary when these people show up out of nowhere, even when you are watching for it. I know I had an angel on my side as I should have been dead more than once...

Nancy

I recommend reading Lynnie's book. She shares very intimate information for the sake of healing other women. It's powerful and well worth the read. To get an idea of what it's about, you can go to the Feautred Author forum and look her up. She did an excellent job as our Featured Author by sharing a lot of information from her book.

My daughter had a girlfriend who's brother was actually murdered by his ex girlfriend because he had broken up with her. She snuck into his house and set his Christmas tree on fire and he never stood a chance. She's now in prison.

Years ago, I dated a guy and discovered he just wasn't quite right so broke up with him. He stalked me for 8 months and a restraining order did nothing because he did things he couldn't be caught at. Poured super glue in the locks of my car, slashed the top of my car, called my store at least 30 times every morning when he knew I was there and trying to get it ready to open and would hang up the second I answered. This was before caller id. I finally got an answering machine and didn't answer.

While I didn't fear him it was a heavy burden to deal with. The only way he stopped was when I moved out of state.

Hi Dotsie, thank you for mentioning my book, and why I wrote it. Nancy that's scarey stuff to think that you might have been dead more than once. Dianne, as you know, sometimes the worst violence occurs when the victim tries to leave the abuser.