Female stalking: a systematic review

Abstract

Correspondence: Donatella La Tegola, Department of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, University of Bari, p.za G Cesare, 11, 70124 Bari, Italy Tel +39 080 547 8283 Email donatella.lategola@libero.it Abstract: The aim of this review was to study “female stalking” and specific traits characterizing this phenomenon. The main medical databases were searched for studies conducted in clinical populations, case series, reports, reviews, retrospective studies, and original articles. We highlight a variety of different tactics adopted by female stalkers and their lesser propensity to progress to physical violence. Female stalkers are more frequently affected by erotomania, although this condition generally increases the risk of violence. If there was a previously intimate relationship between the stalker and her victim, this increases the risk of violence. In a significant proportion of female stalkers, the behavior is carried out in the occupational setting, especially in the field of psychotherapy, where the male-female ratio is reversed. No significant differences emerged between the motivations of heterosexual or homosexual stalkers. In the category of crimes of harassment committed by women, stalking seems to be among the most prominent.