Characteristics of False Stalking Reports

Abstract

Very little research exists on false reports of stalking. The current work analyzed questionnaires completed by 357 respondents who presented as stalking victims at antistalking charities in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. After eight uncertain cases were excluded, the false reporting rate was judged to be 11.5%, with the majority of false victims suffering delusions (70%). Those making false reports differed from genuine victims on several characteristics. For instance, they tended to be older and were less likely to report physical assaults against themselves and third parties than were genuine victims. However, such differences were not significant and did not represent mutually exclusive groupings. Current knowledge suggests that investigating authorities and support groups should judge the veracity of stalking accounts on a case-by-case basis, particularly given the well-documented difficulties related to defining stalking behavior.