Cyber Stalking Essay

Cyber stalking, has been defined as the use of electronic communication including, pagers, cell phones, emails and the internet, to bully, threaten, harass, and intimidate a victim. Moreover, it can also be defined as nothing less than emotional terrorism.

Cyber stalking can take many forms’. However, Ellison (1999) suggests, cyber stalking can be classified by the type of electronic communication used to stalk the victim and the extent to which the communication is private or public. Ellison (1999) has classified cyber stalking as either ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’. For example, ‘direct’ cyber stalking includes the use of pagers, cell phones and the email to send messages of hate, obscenities and threats, to intimidate a victim. Direct cyber stalking has been reported to be the most common form of cyber stalking with a close resemblance to offline stalking (Wallace, 2000).

WHY PEOPLE DO IT?

Generally, to be defined as

Working to Halt Online Abuse (2000) statistics also support the gender ratio of offenders claiming, 68% of online harassers/cyber stalkers are male.

Furthermore, common social and psychological factors have been found within offline stalking offender population. For example, social factors such as the diversity in socio-economic backgrounds and either underemployment or unemployment have been found significant factors in offline stalking offenders .

In a research done on young stalkers between 9 and 18 years of age little difference was found between young and adult offline stalking offenders. For example, the majority of offenders were male, had some form of previous relationship with the victim and experienced social isolation. LEGAL RESPONSES TO