Victims Of Stalking Essay

Victims of stalking often are ordinary people, with mostly just cases of famous victims being reported on the media. Victims are likely (but not necessarily) female, young, educated and single. Violence is more likely if the stalker and the victim had a prior relationship, resulting possibly from a sense of ownership over the victim. Many cases of stalking are not reported (around half of them). Still, the psychological harm done by threats, stalking and intrusion is often judged by the victims as more severe than actual physical assault. Stalking often has a giant impact on the life of the victim, resulting in drastic lifestyle changes such as focusing way more on one´s security and becoming more isolated. Many victims of stalking even change jobs and their homes to escape the stalker, which often does not help against an overly motivated stalker. Especially the victims´ fears and their increasing isolation lead to a loss of social capital (such as family and friends) in a situation where the victims would need their support most, leaving the victim even more vulnerable than before. Being stalked often results in anxiety, insomnia, and other results of post-traumatic stress

There are three general treatment options for sexual offenders: (1) Cognitive programs focused on changing styles of thought and increasing empathy in the rapist, (2) Behavioral techniques and physical measures focus on the reorientation of an offender´s reactions, and (3) Medical interventions, such as reduction of hormone levels or eventually castration. These techniques have been combined into sex offender treatment programs (SOTP), which are mainly focused on cognitive behavioral techniques because they seem to be the most effective. Still, these treatments have no high overall effect, but every small positive change in sexual offenders is seen as