Rejected! #2: Stalking!

After the break-up of a close relationship, sometimes the offended party, the one who was left, will not accept that it's over, forever.  He or she will not give up trying to contact the loved one, and will try any and every means to get the slightest response, in hopes of stimulating a restored relationship.

When the jilted lover won't take "No" for an answer, and continues the attempted contacts, it's called "stalking."  This might be very dangerous for the person who has left.  Stalking is a criminal offense.

Do you remember the movie, "Fatal Attraction?"  In this 1987 movie, Michael Douglas' character is a married man who has a passionate one-night stand with Glenn Close's character, an unmarried woman.  Glenn Close is very convincing as a woman who refuses to be tossed aside.  She pretends she's pregnant by him, terrorizes Douglas and his movie family, stalking them endlessly.  The movie was so horrifying that afterwards, it was said that the number of actual affairs was decreased significantly for months.

Stalkers will make total pests of themselves with frequent phone calls, texting, sending greeting cards/flowers/gifts, coming to their loved one's home and/or even calling their family and friends, trying to get support.  Several women I know reported, "I was afraid of his violence before I got the guts to leave him.  Now I'm so bothered that I'm getting an E.P.O. (Emergency Protective Order)."  Several other women moved far away and gave their new addresses to only a few trusted family members.

Here's some interesting statistics from CAEPV (The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence):  "While women are significantly more likely to be stalked by a male (67 percent) than a female (24 percent), men are just as likely to be stalked by another male (41 percent) than a female (43 percent). . . Young people 18 to 24 experience the highest rates of stalking." (caepv.org, 9-9-14).

Some stalkers will stop their intimidating immediately if threatened with police action.  If the unwelcome attention will not stop, and you are the victim, you must take action to protect yourself, immediately!

Dear Lord, You know that most of us have several dating relationships before choosing a mate.  Help all our relationships, even the ones that end, be positive, learning experiences, not touched by violence.  Yet help us be strong and not tolerate violence in any form.  Most of all, help us be wise in our choices of who to date.