2003 Cyberstalking Statistics Released

The latest statistics involving online harassment/stalking, including four years of cumulative statistics.

(PRWEB) February 19, 2004 --Jayne A. Hitchcock, president of WHOA (Working to Halt Online Abuse) announces the 2003 cyberstalking statistics at www.haltabuse.org. Cumulative statistics for the years 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 are also included. WHO@ is the only organization to provide up-to-date cyberstalking statistics.

We have been seeing a disturbing trend over the years," Hitchcock says. Whereas males are primarily the offender, the number of female offenders has risen dramatically. In 2000, only 27% of our cases involved female offenders; last year that jumped to 38%."

This is probably due to the belief that someone can remain anonymous online by using a free e-mail service such as Yahoo or Hotmail, by changing the From:" line to read a bogus e-mail address or by using an anonymous remailer service. Hitchcock says the majority of offenders are normally not computer experts, and usually stop when they are caught and know they cannot get away with it. However, the ones who are not stopped right away tend to escalate to other forms of online harassment, and sometimes offline harassment and stalking. The latter happened to 38% of the cases in 2003.

Other unusual trends:
- Male victims more than doubled since 2000 - from 13% to 27%
- Escalation of online harassment jumped from 39.4% in 2001 to 62% in 2003

WHOA can usually resolve cases before involving law enforcement or an attorney by contacting the offenders ISP," Hitchcock adds. Victims also took our advice by changing their e-mail address, changing their profile and not responding to the harassment. If they do have to contact law enforcement, 44 states now have cyberstalking or related laws and more can be done legally to protect the victim."
WHOA receives an average of 50-100 cases per week, handled by volunteer advocates located throughout the United States and the world. They accept cases of adults only over the age of 18, as most other online safety organizations focus more on child-related cases.
One thing that didnt change was how the harassment began online - e-mail remained the primary way the harassment began, whether or not the victim encountered their harasser elsewhere online or offline.

Other relevant 2003 statistics:
- The majority of victims were Caucasian females aged 18-30
- The majority of victims were single, followed closely by those married
- Almost 60% of the victims knew the offender previously
- California, New York and Pennsylvania were the top three states victims came from (for the third year in a row)
- California remained the top location harassers were located, followed by Texas and England

The cyberstalking statistics are calculated each year based on victims who include the optional demographic information on the questionnaire they are asked to fill out when coming to WHOA for help. These statistics are now available at WHOAs web site.

WHOA was founded in 1997 and is one of the oldest online safety organizations. Hitchcock, the author of Net Crimes & Misdemeanors: travels the country training law enforcement how to track down cybercriminals and work with victims, as well as giving lectures about staying safe online.

Related web links:
Cyberstalking statistics www.haltabuse.org/resources/stats
States and countries with cyberstalking or related laws and links to those statutes www.haltabuse.org/resources/laws
Cybercrimes Training & Lectures www.haltabuse.org/jayne/speak.shtml
Net Crimes & Misdemeanors: www.netcrimes.net

Contact Phone 561-828-2801