STALKING AND THE WORKPLACE:

FACT SHEET
Stalking is a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable
person to feel fear or suffer emotional distress. Most stalking victims are stalked by someone they
know, most commonly a current/former intimate partner (40%) or an acquaintance (42%). A In
situations where the stalking and victim are acquaintances, about one-quarter are professional
acquaintances. B Stalking often intersects with other forms of gender-based violence and
harassment, including sexual harassment and intimate partner violence. However, stalking is its own
form of violence with its own risks, safety planning needs, and policy response.
Some stalkers meet their victims through the workplace as colleagues, customers,
! vendors, or other professional acquaintances. Other stalkers — like intimate partners —
may target their victims in multiple locations including the workplace.

Stalkers can be very dangerous, yet too often, stalking goes unrecognized and unaddressed — by
victims/survivors and their friends and family, support services, legal systems, and workplaces.
Stalking frequently co-occurs with other violence and is a risk factor for homicide. C All stalkers
can be dangerous, but former or current intimate partners are generally more threatening, violent,
and interfering than other stalkersD and may stalk before, during, and/or after the relationship. E
Intimate partner stalking is a form of domestic violence; when abusive partners engage in
controlling behaviors such as excessively contacting the victim while at work, showing up uninvited,
and/or sabotaging the victim’s work performance, attendance, or workplace more broadly, that’s
stalking AND intimate partner violence. Domestic violence at work often takes the form of
stalking behaviors. Stalking behaviors that target an intimate partner’s ability to work and remain
financially stable are also a form of economic abuse.
Given the increased risk of harm and lethality in stalking cases, it is vital to identify

!
stalking separate from and in addition to concurring victimizations. Whatever way victims
or offenders label their experiences, it is vital for workplaces to identify stalking behaviors
when they occur because stalking requires a unique policy response.
Stalking can be difficult to identify and distinguish from other victimizations. When describing their
experiences, stalking survivors may not use the word “stalking” or express fear, and may use the
word “harassment” instead. Generally, harassment creates a hostile environment and makes victims
feel annoyed, frustrated, upset, angry, and/or disrespected whereas stalking victims feel fear and/or
emotional distress. When a victim feels (or could reasonably feel) unsafe, frightened, or like they
cannot live a normal life due to the pattern of behavior— that is stalking. Harassment can co-occur
with stalking, can be part of a stalking pattern, and/or can become stalking when the impacts of the
behaviors change from feeling annoyed, frustrated, or upset to feeling unsafe, afraid, or distressed.

Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center Futures Without Violence

 STALKING AND THE WORKPLACE:
FACT SHEET
STALKING BEHAVIORS & THE WORKPLACE
Stalking is much more than monitoring and following. Examples of how stalking behaviors can
intersect with workplaces are categorized below.
“He’d walk by my desk a million
SURVEILLANCE:
times per day, to check where I
• Following to/from the workplace
was and who I was talking to.”
• Asking coworkers for information about the victim
• Showing up at the victim’s workplace
• Monitoring and/or surveilling the victim while at work
• Tracking software on work devices
• Monitoring workplace communications for information about the victim
• Asking friends, family, and children about the victim’s employment, commute, or routine

LIFE INVASION:
“He was parked outside the restaurant
• Unwanted contact while at work
where I worked and I knew he’d make a
• Harassing coworkers, customers, clients
scene if I went in for my shift.”
• Submitting complaints about the victim
• Sending gifts, packages, and mail to work
• Harassing the victim while at work, including sexual harassment
• Unwanted contact through work phone, email, and company social media

INTIMIDATION:
• Damage to work property “He threatened to show his
• Threats to attack the victim at the workplace friends – who were my
• Threats to harm coworkers, customers, or clients colleagues – naked photos he
• Forced confrontations at work took of me while I was sleeping.”
• Threats to get the victim disciplined or fired

INTERFERENCE (through sabotage or attack):

• Damaging or stealing the victim’s property needed for work (keys, car, laptop, papers)
• Humiliating the victim or spreading rumors to undermine the victim’s employment or make
them look bad to supervisors, coworkers, or customers
• Sharing the victim’s personal info, photos, or videos “A client showed up at my
• False complaints or reviews daughter’s soccer game, I
• Physical or sexual attack at the workplace have no idea how they even
• Constant source of distraction
found out about it.”
• Purposefully getting the victim fired
• Making the victim late for work or preventing them from going

Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center Futures Without Violence

 STALKING AND THE WORKPLACE:
FACT SHEET
A Note on Data and Terminology: Stalking is very under-reported. Measurements differ widely based
on the definition of stalking used. This fact sheet uses the terms used by the cited study. More data are
needed that explore the specific impacts of stalking on the workplace to guide best practices in the
response to stalking victims and offenders.

WORKPLACE IMPACTS ON STALKING VICTIMS

• Work days lost due intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking over victims’
lifetimes are worth an estimated $137.8 billion (2022 USD). F G
• 17% of stalking victims describe losing a job or job opportunities.H
• 1 in 8 employed stalking victims lose time from work as a result of their victimization and more
than half lose five days of work or more.I
• 1 in 7 stalking victims relocate as a result of their victimization, which affects their work.J
• Stalking victims suffer much higher rates of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and social
dysfunction than people in the general population.K These impacts, and strategies for coping
with them, can impact work performance.
• Among victims stalked by an ex-partner, nearly half described job losses because of the actions
of that abuser. Job losses were highest while a victim was in the process of separation.L
• For those who experienced job losses, more than half of the victims talked to coworkers
and about one-third talked to supervisors about the situation.M
• Among a sample of cyberstalking victims, 48% described negative work consequences. These
consequences were exacerbated by the number of online stalking behaviors exhibited and if
stalking also occurred offline.N

STALKING OFFENDERS AND THE WORKPLACE

• 64% of stalkers pursue their victims at least once per week and 78% use more than one tactic.O
• Intimate partner stalkers are the most likely stalkers to approach, threaten, and harm their
victims, and to assault third parties.P
• 78% of intimate partner violence offenders used workplace resources at least once to express
remorse or anger, check up on, pressure, or threaten the victim.Q
• 74% had easy access to their intimate partner’s workplace, with 21% saying they contacted
the victim at work in violation of a no-contact order.
• 48% had difficulty concentrating at work, with 19% describing a workplace accident or near
miss due to preoccupation with their relationship.
• 42% were late to work and 25% went to the victim’s house while on the clock.
Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center Futures Without Violence
 STALKING AND THE WORKPLACE:
FACT SHEET
DYNAMICS OF WORKPLACE STALKING
• Across nine industry-level studies of stalking, more than a third of stalking victims reported
receiving malicious or unsubstantiated complaints at work and having misinformation spread
about their professional abilities.R S
• Rates of stalking in the workplace range widely by industry.T U Professions that involve frequent
contact with a wide variety of people, and in which the professional has a duty of care to their
clientele, may be at increased risk of stalking victimization.V More research is needed to
examine this issue by sector and evaluate best practices in prevention and response.

WORKPLACE RESPONSE TO STALKING

• 31% of workplaces had a formal policy on stalking, 56% did not and had no plans to put one in
place, and the remaining 14% planned to put one in place within 12 months.W
• Stalking survivors who had positive experiences being supported by their workplace describe
feeling listened to, having their immediate supervisor take the stalking seriously, having regular
formal workplace meetings to deal with the stalking, and having the workplace take steps to
manage safety.X
• Negative workplace experiences included victim blaming, minimizing the victims’ experience,
discounting their fears, and leaving the victim to manage the stalker alone, thus making the
victim feel isolated. Y
• Stalking survivors are experts in their own situations; workplace responses must always center
on their agency, wishes, and consent.Z

Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center

1000 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 1010 | Washington, DC 20005 | (202) 558-0040
[email protected] | www.StalkingAwareness.org | @FollowUsLegally

Workplaces Respond to Domestic & Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center

Futures Without Violence
1320 19 Street NW, Suite 401 | Washington, D.C. 20036 | (202) 595-7382
th

[email protected] | https://www.workplacesrespond.org/
@FuturesWithoutViolence | @WithoutViolence

This project was supported by Grant No. 2017-TA-AX-K074 and 2019-WW-AX-K001 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S.
Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center Futures Without Violence

 STALKING AND THE WORKPLACE:
FACT SHEET
Citations

A Smith, S.G., Basile, K.C., & Kresnow, M. (2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2016/2017 Report on
Stalking. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs/nisvsStalkingReport.pdf
B Morgan, R.E. & Truman, J.L. (2022). Stalking Victimization, 2019. Washington, DC: US DOJ, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report.

https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/sv19.pdf
C Spencer, C.M. & Stith, S.M. (2018). Risk Factors for Male Perpetration and Female Victimization of Intimate Partner Homicide: A Meta-Analysis.

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 21(3), 527-540.

D Mohandie, K., Meloy, J., McGowan, M., & Williams, J. (2006). The RECON typology of stalking: Reliability and validity based upon a large sample of

north American stalkers. Journal of Forensic Science, 51(1), 147-155.

E Tjaden, P. & Thoennes, N. (1998). Stalking in America: Findings from the national violence against women survey (NCJ#169592). Washington, DC:

National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

F Peterson, C., Liu, Y., Kresnow, M. J., Florence, C., Merrick, M. T., Degue, S., & Lokey, C. N. (2018). Short-Term Lost Productivity Per Victim:

Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence, Or Stalking. American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 55(1), 106-110.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6014928/
G Calculated from 2016 USD using US Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI Calculator https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
H Morgan, R.E. & Truman, J.L. (2022). Stalking Victimization, 2019. Washington, DC: US DOJ, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report.

https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/sv19.pdf
I Baum, K., Catalano S., Rand, M., and Rose, K. (2009). Bureau of Justice Statistics. Stalking Victimization in the United States.

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/ovw/legacy/2012/08/15/bjs-stalking-rpt.pdf
J Ibid.
K Blaauw, E., Arensman, E., Winkel, F.W., Freeve, A., & Sheridan, L. (2002). The Toll of Stalking. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17(1), 50-63.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lorraine-Sheridan-2/publication/255613852_The_Toll_of_Stalking/links/55c1ac8808aed621de155782/The-
Toll-of-Stalking.pdf
L Logan, T. K., & Showalter, K. (2022). Work Harassment and Resource Loss Among (Ex) Partner Stalking Victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,

38(1-2), NP1060–NP1087. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221086649

M Ibid.
N Fissel, & Reyns, B. W. (2020). The Aftermath of Cyberstalking: School, Work, Social, and Health Costs of Victimization. American Journal of

Criminal Justice, 45(1), 70–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-019-09489-1

O Mohandie, K., Meloy, J.R., McGowan, M.G., & Williams, J. (2006). The RECON Typology of Stalking: Reliability and Validity Based upon a Large

Sample of North American Stalkers. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 51(1), 147-155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2005.00030.x
P Ibid.
Q Reckitt, L. G. & Fortman, L. A. (2004). Impact of Domestic Violence Offenders on Occupational Safety & Health: A Pilot Study. Maine

Department of Labor. https://www.maine.gov/labor/labor_stats/publications/dvreports/domesticoffendersreport.pdf

R Jutasi, C., & McEwan, T. E. (2021). Stalking of professionals: A scoping review. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 8(3), 94–

124. https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000160
S Matos M., Alheiro A., Gonçalves M., Cunha A., Martinho G. (2020). Prevalence of Stalking Among Justice Professionals In Portugal. Journal of

Interpersonal Violence. ;Maclean L., Reiss D., Whyte S., Christopherson S., Petch E., Penny C. (2013). Psychiatrists’ Experiences of Being Stalked:
A Qualitative Analysis. The Journal of The American Academy of Psychiatry And The Law, 41(2), 193–199.; M., Soskice J. (2014). Why Can’t We
Be Lovers? The Love-Obsessed Clients Who Stalk Their Therapist. In M. Luca. (), Sexual Attraction In Therapy: Clinical Perspectives On Moving
Beyond The Taboo: A Guide For Training And Practice (Pp. 137–150).
T Pathé, M., & Mullen, P. (1997). The impact of stalkers on their victims. British Journal of Psychiatry, 170(1), 12-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-

019-00125-4
U Jutasi, C., & McEwan, T. E. (2021). Stalking Of Professionals: A Scoping Review. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 8(3), 94–

124. https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000160
V Ngo. (2019). Stalking: An Examination Of The Correlates Of Subsequent Police Responses. Policing : An International Journal Of Police Strategies &

Management, 42(3), 362–375. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-12-2017-0157

W Society for Human Resource Management. (2013). SHRM Survey Findings: The Workplace Impact of Domestic and Sexual Violence and Stalking.
X Jutasi, C., & Mcewan, T. E. (2021). Stalking Of Professionals: A Scoping Review. Journal Of Threat Assessment And Management, 8(3), 94–

124. https://Doi.Org/10.1037/Tam0000160
Y Ibid.
Z Nichols, A. J. (2020). Advocacy Responses To Intimate Partner Stalking: Micro, Mezzo, And Macro Level Practices. Journal Of Family Violence,

35(7), 741-753. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10896-019-00125-4