The psychology of stalking
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is an ABC Radio National podcast. For full details, abc.net.au. And
welcome to All In The Mind here on ABC Radio National Summer. Natasha Mitchell joining you. Great to have you on board. Today on the show, the chilling psychology of stalking. Lynne Malcolm is your guide. I'd never
been so frightened in my life. The funny things were like thinking, I'm in a spy movie, you know, I'm being followed. So you go another way to try and throw off the... And you think, what am I doing this for?
What is stalking and how is it defined in modern law?
But it was so awful, so bizarre.
That's Carol, remembering the terrifying experience of being stalked. It's the stuff of thrillers on the silver screen, for sure. But sadly, it can be a harsh reality for some. Stalking is characterised by imposing on someone else repeated unwanted communication and contact, which can cause extreme distress and fear. It hasn't always been known by that term, but accounts from law courts in London in the 18th and 19th centuries clearly describe this insidious behaviour. But according to Professor Paul Mullen of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, stalking is becoming more prevalent.
My guess is it's becoming far more frequent over the last 10, 20 years and that's what's pushed it into prominence. But also partly chance. Media in particular became interested with those who pursued, constantly intruded on and occasionally attacked the famous, the so-called star stalkers. And this group got a lot of publicity, and that's really where the name stalking began and where the studies began. I mean, one of the best portrayals of stalking that we have in art was a film which was produced before we even had the word stalking, and that was Play Misty for me. But once we began to publicise and start to understand stalking, the people who pursued the famous. It became increasingly clear that this was just the tip of an iceberg, a very large and sinister iceberg, which involved far wider sections of the community than just the famous.
Today we hear Carol's story. It's not her real name and her voice has been changed to protect her identity. She was a tertiary education teacher and she was stalked over a period of three years by one of her students. As a result, her and her family's life was severely disrupted. And even though it happened 15 years ago, the fear she felt then is still palpable. And the whole thing seemed to come out of the blue for her.
Well, this person was in my class and at the end of the course he rang me up and said, now I'm not in your class anymore, we can go out together. And I just said, what do you mean? It was just a shock because you don't realise that he had sat in my class and developed this obsession without knowledge of me and he had a whole world in his head.
But you wouldn't have realised at that stage that it was an obsession?
No. Well, I'm saying, sorry, no, you know, I'm in a relationship. I'm not interested, you know. That was it as far as I was concerned. But then it was several times he just kept ringing and ringing. I never even had a social event with this person, never had a coffee, nothing. It was always a teacher-student relationship in a classroom. But he wouldn't take no for...
What else did he do besides ring? Well...
Why are stalking incidents increasing in recent decades?
I mean, I solved the ringing by getting an unlisted phone number. But then it started with postcards. And I would get about three a week. And they would always have been posted at the same time every day. And it was always, you sure you don't want to see me? I'd love to see you. And I got letters, copious pages of letters explaining how he wanted to be part of my family and how... He wanted a relationship with me and he also used to send flowers. He used to have bouquets of flowers arrive. I only sent a couple of replies saying as strongly as I could, do not contact me, I do not want a relationship with you, go away.
Did he respond to that? No, no. Did he ever follow you?
Yes, that was what started to happen next. He would be... waiting outside my house, which then used to stop me from going out sometimes. But if you have to go to work, you have to buy things from the supermarket.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:40
2
What is stalking and how is it defined in modern law?
0:40–4:00
3
Why are stalking incidents increasing in recent decades?
4:00–12:58
4
How did Carol’s three‑year stalking ordeal begin and evolve?
12:58–17:33
5
What tactics did the stalker use to maintain contact and control?
17:33–27:26
6
What are the main categories of stalkers and their motivations?
27:26–30:11