One in five Aussie women stalked: ABS

One in five Australian women over the age of 15 experienced stalking in a large-scale survey conducted between 2021-22, with women eight times more likely to be stalked by a man than another woman.

In comparison, one in 15 men have experienced stalking since the age of 15, with male victims likely to be stalked by men and women at a similar rate.

The figures were released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with its head of crime and justice statistics William Milney noting certain groups were over-represented in the figures.

“Women who were more likely to experience stalking included young women, those who were studying or renting, and those under financial stress,” he said.

In situations in which a woman experienced stalking by a man, 78 per cent of respondents said it was often by someone they knew and most commonly either a current or former intimate partner, with further aggression.

“Half of the women who were stalked by a male intimate partner were assaulted or threatened with assault by that same partner,” Mr Milne said.

“Half of the women who were stalked by their male intimate partner were stalked for more than a year. This included 115,900 women who said that the stalking continued for over three years.”

Notably, the data was collected between March 2021 and May 2022 when several states were under strict stay-at-home orders and lockdown orders.

The study identified stalking as repeated loitering and following “which the targeted person believed were being undertaken with the intent to cause them fear or distress”.

This included someone repeatedly showing up to someone’s home, workplace or place of leisure, the use of electronic tracking devices, or maintaining unwanted contact through calls and texts, post or social media.

Stalking was also classified as the interference or damage of someone’s property or leaving or giving objects that were found to be offensive or disturbing.