Warning: This article contains themes that some may find distressing
Around one in seven people aged 16 years and over in England and Wales has been a victim of stalking at least once, according to our latest data.
Stalking can take many forms and has a devastating and long-lasting impact on people’s lives.
Our latest data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) shows how one in five women and around 1 in 11 men aged 16 years and over has been a victim of stalking.
It also shows that younger people were more likely to be stalking victims in the year ending March 2024.
In this article we have worked with charities and organisations that support stalking victims. The experiences of these victims have been shared with us in their own words. As a victim of stalking your life is suspended and controlled by someone else... locked in a cycle of fear and anxiety. I feel like I am living someone else’s life, the stalking behaviours have robbed me of the life I built... it’s a very lonely, isolated existence.
Source: Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service
What is stalking?
In the Crime Survey for England and Wales, we define stalking as two or more incidents causing distress, fear, or alarm, including:
- receiving obscene or threatening unwanted letters, emails, text messages or phone calls
- having obscene or threatening information about them placed on the internet
- a person waiting or loitering around their home or workplace
- being followed or watched
Our CSEW provides the best measure for understanding how many people experience stalking in England and Wales every year. Our latest data showed that an estimated 1.5 million people aged 16 years and over experienced stalking in the year ending March 2024. Levels of stalking have been fairly consistent over the last 10 years.
Stalking prevalence has remained consistent in recent years
Prevalence of stalking in the last year among people aged 16 to 59 years, England and Wales, YE March 2014 to YE March 2024
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Notes:
- When presenting long-term trends, we use the 16 to 59 years age range to give a comparable time-series; data for all people aged 16 years and over are only available from year ending March 2022 onwards.
- Data from the CSEW for YE March 2022, YE March 2023 and YE March 2024 are not designated as accredited official statistics.
- Data for YE March 2022 and YE March 2023 are based on a reduced data collection period, so caution should be taken when using them
Download the data for stalking prevalence in the last 10 years [XLSX, 16KB]
While the CSEW shows stalking trends have been relatively flat in the last decade the number of stalking offences recorded by the police has risen dramatically, reflecting improvements to police recording practices, changes to Home Office counting rules and victims’ willingness to come forward.
Despite these rises, the number of police-recorded stalking offences remains well below levels reported in the CSEW, with 129,076 offences recorded in the year ending March 2024, up from 2,885 in the year ending March 2015.
While there are slight differences in how the CSEW and the police define stalking which may explain this gap, it is possible that due to the sensitive nature of the crime, victims may not always report it to the police.
Since their introduction in 2019, Stalking Protection Orders have been used to allow early police intervention in stalking cases. From February 2021 to December 2021, 434 applications for Stalking Protection Orders were made and 232 were issued, according to the latest data from His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.
Women are more likely to be a victim
Stalking is a crime that is experienced by both men and women, but the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) shows that women are more likely to be a victim. This is the case for many other violent crimes in the past year, according to our latest Nature of Violent Crime release.
One in five women (20.2%) have experienced stalking at some point since the age of 16, according to our latest figures. The same can be said for 8.7% of men.
In the year ending March 2024, 1 in 25 (4%) women aged 16 years and over was a victim of stalking. In the same period, 2.3% of men were a victim.
Around 1 in 5 women aged 16 years and over have been a victim of stalking
Prevalence of stalking since the age of 16 years and in the last year among people aged 16 years and over, England and Wales, YE March 2024
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Notes:
- Data from the CSEW for YE March 2024 are not designated as accredited official statistics.
Download the data for stalking prevalence [XLSX, 16KB]
Younger people were more likely to be a victim, with 8.8% of people aged 16 to 19 years experiencing stalking in the past year. More than 1 in 10 women (10.5%) and around 1 in 15 men (6.7%) aged 16 to 19 years were a victim of the crime in the year ending March 2024.
People aged 16 to 19 years were more likely to be stalking victims in the year ending March 2024
Percentage of people aged 16 years and over who were victims of stalking in the last year, by age. England and Wales, YE March 2024
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Notes:
- Data from the CSEW for YE March 2024 are not designated as accredited official statistics.
Download the data for stalking victims by age band [XLSX, 16KB]
Out of approximately 1.5 million stalking victims in the year ending March 2024, an estimated 423,000 (28%) were victims of domestic stalking, with 314,000 (21%) being stalked by a partner or ex-partner and 141,000 (9%) being stalked by a family member.
Approximately 635,000 (42%) victims reported that the stalking had involved online methods, like using electronic communications to threaten or harass.
Around 1 in 5 victims were stalked by a partner or ex-partner
Estimated number of victims of stalking by type of stalking and sex. England and Wales, YE March 2024.
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Notes:
- Data from the CSEW for YE March 2024 are not designated as accredited official statistics.
- There is a 95% certainty that the true value falls within the confidence interval range.
The impact of stalking on its victims
Although every incident of stalking will differ in nature, they often affect the victims in the same way: a feeling of a loss of control, fear and anxiety, or worse.
Several victims who shared their voices through the charities and organisations we worked with on this article described how their stalking experience meant they struggled to trust other people, and that the crime led to the breakdown of relationships with those they cared about.
I have lost my life, my livelihood, friends, and family. I have lost all trust in everyone and view everyone with suspicion... I cannot sleep as the nightmares follow.
Source – Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service
Other victims described the physical exhaustion that stalking caused them, as they felt they always had to be vigilant and alert wherever they were. Many victims felt like they could never relax, even when they were at home.
Being a victim of stalking is horrendous, you feel like you're in prison in your own home... you don't know who's watching and following you... it mentally, emotionally and physically drains you.
Source: Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service
The mental toll of stalking was also highlighted by many victims who shared their experiences with us. Some described how they had suffered stress, anxiety, and other psychological harm from stalking.
Being stalked takes away part of your freedom. You no longer feel safe going to places you used to love. A constant feeling of anxiety waiting for the next episode.
Source: Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service
The effects of stalking are severe and long-lasting
The effect of stalking on its victims can vary hugely, but there is no doubt that they can last for a long time after the offending is over.
I have to be private, I’m moving areas, moving my son’s school. I am worried when my restraining order expires - even though it’s in six years - I’m sure he will be back. He’s given me a life sentence of trauma
Source – Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service
Support for victims and the amount of help available to them is growing. The first stalking law came into statute in 2012, and in 2017, the maximum sentence for a stalking offence was increased to 10 years.
Stalking is a crime of psychological terror. It robs the victim, and often their family, of their day-to-day freedoms and their sense of safety in their own home and community. Stalking has significant and long-term impacts on the health and wellbeing of victims, and children are often hidden victims of this crime.
Source: The London Stalking Review
Many victims find effective support and guidance through charities. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which operates the National Stalking Helpline, supported more than 75,000 victims since it was established in 2010, while Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service takes calls from more than 5,000 victims of stalking every year.
By working with these charities, many victims have been able to start rebuilding their lives.
If you’d met me last year, I was half of what I am now. I was an absolute mess. I genuinely couldn’t have done what I’ve done or got where I am without the help of the stalking clinic. I’ve not got that family support on the outside so... I rely on them for all my support.
Source: Suzy Lamplugh Trust – Join Forces Against Stalking report
Understanding how we define stalking
Although stalking can have a huge and enduring effect on its victims, it is not always easy to understand what stalking is, especially for those who have never experienced it.
Stalking is always seen as somebody standing outside the front of the house or following you down the street or sending you letters. It’s so much more than that, it's tiny, tiny little things.
Source: Gloucestershire Police – ‘Am I being stalked?’
As described earlier in this article, stalking incidents could be a wide range of things, and could be seen as something relatively ordinary, like making repeated phone calls, or something shocking, like hiding in someone’s home. Any of these incidents could constitute stalking and should always be taken seriously.
I reported his behaviour because he broke into my home, and he hid in my home, and it was terrifying. His behaviour and how he was going about contacting me changed. It suddenly became a lot darker, a lot more malicious and more hidden.
Source: Gloucestershire Police – ‘Am I being stalked?’
The definition of stalking in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) is closely aligned to the police recorded crime definition, which is used to ensure that crimes are recorded consistently and accurately. However, it may be that some experiences captured in the CSEW would not meet the threshold for the police to record a crime. It is also possible that not everyone who has these experiences recognises them as a crime or comes forward to report it.
It is also important to remember that while police-recorded stalking data are a good indicator of police activity, they should be interpreted with caution. Changes in recording practices and counting rules have affected the recording of violent crime in the last 10 years, including stalking and harassment.
Our User guide to crime statistics for England and Wales provides further information about the CSEW and police recorded crime data.
Finding help
If you or someone you know has experienced stalking, help is available:
If you feel unsafe call 999 and ask for the police
If you cannot use a phone you can text REGISTER to 999 and you will receive a text message which tells you what to do next
The National Stalking Helpline (run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust) can be called on 0808 802 0300.
Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service can be called on 02038664107