Monday November 26th 2012 saw new anti-stalking laws brought into force in England and Wales: six months in prison and/or a fine to a maximum of £5,000 for conviction for this offence. I am astonished that it has taken so long to achieve this here; we certainly seem to have lagged behind other countries. Fictional representations of potentially lethal stalking immediately spring to mind. Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love (1997) and the Clint Eastwood film Play Misty for Me (1971) are two examples that made me think about the psychology of stalking; there are, of course, others – the element of the stalker in Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon (1981), for example, was something which struck me when I read it as a proof copy – and, though the murder rate for the victims of stalkers is in reality quite low, all of these fictional stories have a tremendous psychological interest.
Obsession of one kind or another afflicts many people and manifests itself in many ways; stalking is one which is particularly frightening and sinister, as victims are unable to defend themselves from the invasion of their privacy and from the fear and threat of harm. Newspapers here referred this week to the 2005 murder by a stalker of Clare Bernal in the Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge store – the welcome new laws have been a long time coming. I hope that they will prove effective in keeping the behaviour and the crime firmly in fiction.
Christina James, crime novelist 
Christina – Stalking really is a very frightening kind of crime. I am glad to hear that it’s being taken this seriously. It may be effective and all that sort of thing for a crime fiction plot but in real life it can be terrifying.
Yes, Margot, to have it taken seriously is very important; it seems strange that campaigns have to be fought to get something like this into law. As always, thank you – it must be very early there! Or late! I’m with Sir Toby Belch on this: “not to be a-bed after midnight is to be up betimes”!
I experienced stalking, luckily when I threatened to report the stalker, it stopped. However, It took me a while to understand that the behaviour was stalking and that there were laws against it. I found very useful information on https://www.gov.uk/report-stalker.
Another film with a stalking theme is http://www.happygoluckythemovie.com
Jitka, I’m very concerned to hear that you have been the victim of a stalker. Thank you for sharing what must have been a frightening experience and for providing the information and film links. You are very welcome here.