ISSUES OF STALKING

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In a KBS survey conducted on the awareness and experiences of stalking, one out of ten respondents replied that they had been stalked. Today, we take a closer look on the issue of stalking.

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[Soundbite] BAE JI-SOO(SEOUL RESIDENT) : "She was the one who took precautions like changing the time she went to school."

[Soundbite] JEON GI-HYEON(SEOUL RESIDENT) : "Women could feel threatened."

How many people have actually been stalked personally? A survey found that 133 out of roughly 1,200 respondents, about one out of every ten people have been a victim of stalking. By gender, 13.5% of women respondents and 8.6% of men have replied that they had experienced stalking. A much higher percentage of respondents at 27.1% knew someone who had been stalked.

[Soundbite] KIM SU-JEONG(INCHEON RESIDENT) : "A friend was working part-time when she noticed that someone was waiting around for her to get off work to go home."

Victims suffered various types of stalking. Most of the cases involved stalkers coming to the victims' homes or workplaces without warning, followed by persistent calls and text messages and even tailing. The respondents agreed that stalking was a serious crime, but men as opposed to women had a different idea on how to address the issue. More than 72% of the respondents disagreed with the notion that stalking could be stopped when refusal is clearly expressed. But 18% of the women respondents and twice as many men at 36% thought that a clear refusal could be a solution. Both men and women agreed that punishment for stalking should be strengthened. Currently, stalking is treated as a misdemeanor. This online survey, commissioned to KBS Public Media Institute, was conducted on 1,202 men and women 19 and older. The survey had a 95% confidence level with plus or minus 2.8% point sampling error.