Baby Reindeer, stalking and why the reality is so much worse

Educating, supporting and protecting young people from stalking and online harms. By Dr Robert McLean, Dr Maria Sapouna and Dr Karen Cooper.

Stalking as a national emergency

Since the release of the hugely popular Netflix televised mini-series Baby Reindeer in 2024, discussion around the phenomenon that is ‘stalking’ has gained significant traction. Stalking is recognised as a serious crime but shares complex intersectionality with several other crimes, offences and harmful patterns of behaviour.

This juxtaposed position means that while stalking is arguably more common than first perceived, its distinct separation as a notable act becomes intrinsically difficult to distinguish. This creates a number of problems in relation to reporting, identification and legal proceedings.

To make matters more complex, no universal definition of stalking exists. Indeed, even legal definitions vary depending upon the international context. Under Section 39 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, Scotland was the first of the Home Nations to introduce stalking-specific legislation. England and Wales followed suit in 2012, amending the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Northern Ireland did likewise in 2022. Yet, all retain their own legal framework to act upon. Despite differences, some consistent features are evident. Generally, the term has come to refer to a course of conduct consisting of unwanted attention that causes the victim to feel fear and alarm (Worthington, 2023).

While retaining the potential to be significantly detrimental to one’s wellbeing, acts of stalking are generally subtle in form. In Baby Reindeer, protagonist Donny Dunn (played by Richard Gadd) stresses that most stalking actions largely comprise normative behaviours, such as telephone calls, text messages, gift giving and (in his case) complimentary verbal exchange – at least initially. Yet it is the persistent nature of these acts, which often allude to more sinister intent, that is problematic, as more obvious and extreme acts start to emerge as a result of stalker frustration.

Age and gender as factors

Due to a lack of a consistent definition and measurement, it is difficult to estimate the true prevalence of stalking per se among the general population. However, the Office for National Statistics estimates that stalking is among the most prevalent crimes in the UK. It is thought that as many as one in seven adults have experienced some form of stalking in their lifetime. This is greatest among younger cohorts.

Indeed, measurement is made more difficult when considering adolescents, as the majority spend significant time operating in online spaces where transactions are innately intense and persistent. A recent review reported the prevalence of adolescent stalking to be as high as 36% among young cohorts. While males can be stalked, it is an act which disproportionately affects females (Barr and Newman, 2024).

In acknowledgment of gender-based harms, there has been growing political concern in recent years regarding the need to implement a strategic framework to end violence against women and girls (EVAWG). On 23 July 2024, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing released their National Policing Statement outlining the scale of violence against women and girls as a national emergency. The need for EVAWG has now been placed at the forefront of police response. The ability to recognise, identify and respond to stalking in all its guises must be prioritised.

Our latest research, as part of a British Academy research grant award, supports such views. We undertook a qualitative exploratory study with practitioners and 17 young people who had experience of stalking victimisation – and in some cases perpetration – to analyse how stalking is perceived, recognised and acted upon by adolescents, and how this may differ from adult victims. It is hoped that in doing so, evidence-based practice and effective response can be developed. More so given that any successful police intervention and court prosecution is innately difficult to achieve.

Adult and adolescent differences

There is a growing body of literature on the topic of stalking, yet most research is international in focus, quantitative and concerned with adult populations. Resultingly, qualitative research among Britain’s adolescent cohort is lagging. Given that stalking disproportionately impacts younger female populations, it cannot be assumed stalking intent, behaviour, perception and response among adolescents is the same as that of their adult counterparts. The limited research conducted so far on adolescent stalking indicates differences may be profound and have a substantial impact on reporting, prosecution and conviction rates.

Unlike adults, adolescents may engage in stalking behaviours without intent to cause fear or distress, a component historically embedded in the legislative framework for stalking recognition. Howard et al (2019) found that adolescents, most notably girls, viewed social media (eg Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat) stalking as a prosocial way to access information to determine potential romantic partner compatibility. Furthermore, adaptive narratives around online stalking even legitimised the process of ‘friending’ within highly visible online environments. Developmental immaturity to empathise with others may play a pivotal role here.

This normalisation process attributed to the acceptance of online stalking behaviour has undoubtedly impacted on underreporting, most notably due to a decrease in fearful response to harmful behaviours. Frequent and open online interaction can create a false sense of security around potential risk posed (Cloonan-Thomas et al, 2022).

Our colleague Fullerton-Chalmers (2024) proposed in her earlier work the need to give greater attention to the way adolescents communicate with one another via social media platforms. Young people today grow up in a world whereby they are constantly ‘plugged-in’ to the digital world. Receiving constant communication messages means cognitive processes generating fearful response to external stimuli become diminished. Coupled with the normative experience of constant monitoring of behaviour and movement by parental figures, this means young people are in many ways already normalised to quasi-stalking-like behaviours. The ability to recognise risk, identify stalking behaviours and act upon them is decreased among adolescent cohorts.  

Researching adolescents’ experience of stalking

Our research begun in 2024 and continued into 2025. Reaching out to gatekeepers via an established partnership between the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and Scotland’s only dedicated stalking charity Action Against Stalking (AAS), we undertook a small qualitative piece of research interviewing eight practitioners and 17 young people who had experienced stalking victimisation.

Overall, findings suggest that while adolescent stalking shares a number of similarities with adult stalking, it is also more diverse and multifaceted in many respects. Adolescent stalking shared a particularly complex intersectionality with other harmful behaviours. Indeed, our research supports a number of preliminary findings from some other studies in the field. Adolescents often conflate stalking with similar behaviours that involve repeated threats or unwanted communications, most notably bullying and harassment (see Barr and Newman, 2024).

Furthermore, stalking was by no means confined to romantic partnerships alone but regularly crossed friendship and peer group boundaries. Online stalking was the most prevalent manifestation of the act. Interestingly, it was not uncommon for stalking interviewees to straddle the victim-perpetrator nexus. This was most notable when it involved a romantic partner. This duality of role switching aligns with other online adolescent risk-taking behaviours, such as sexting, sexual victimisation and even child criminal exploitation (see Densley et al, 2023).

While the data produced some unique insights, the undertaking of the research itself found a number of concerns to be prevalent which may impact effective intervention. A significant issue became clear when the researchers reached out to institutions of secondary education. There was not only a real reluctance from such institutions to engage with the research but there was also an inability to recognise that stalking acts are taking place among younger populations.

More than one educational facility replied with the response that stalking did not exist; instead likening such acts to bullying. This was indeed contrary to research findings. While bullying terminology enabled school intervention without the need to involve law enforcement, on a number of occasions it was found to dilute the seriousness of some patterns of offending (see McLean et al, 2024).

Concluding remarks

There are many barriers hindering the effective intervention and prevention of stalking. Stalking is massively underreported, and this is truer among young people. The fact that legislation and frameworks are designed around adult cohorts means that young people often slip through the net. The lack of recognition and understanding of stalking from young people, educational institutions and even law enforcement is regrettable and must be addressed.

Adolescents today engage with one another differently from prior generations. Online activity impacts psychological development and even physical response to externally presented stimuli. Legislation must acknowledge such differences and account for distinctions in order to allow effective intervention. Current police practice around stalking is lagging and adequate training must be provided for all, while the need for specialised units cannot be understated. The importance of all parties working from cohesive legislative frameworks is pivotal in this process to end violence against women and girls.

Dr Robert McLean and Dr Karen Cooper are Criminal Justice lecturers, Education and Social Sciences, at the University of the West of Scotland; Dr Maria Sapouna is Criminal Justice Senior Lecturer, Education and Social Sciences, at the University of the West of Scotland.

References

Barr, E, and Newman, A (2024). Children and adolescents as perpetrators of stalking: an overview. Journal of Forensic Practice, 26(1), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-09-2023-0045

Cloonan-Thomas, S, Daff, ES and McEwan, TE (2022). Post-relationship stalking and intimate partner abuse in a sample of Australian adolescents. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 27, 194–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12206

Densley, J, McLean, R and Brick, C (2023). Contesting county lines: case studies in drug crime and deviant entrepreneurship. Policy Press Scholarship Online. https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781529232066.001.0001 (Accessed 19 December 2025)

Fullerton-Chalmers, K (2024). A review of adolescent stalking. Urban Crime – An International Journal, 5(1), 106-123. https://doi.org/10.26250/heal.panteion.uc.v5i1

Howard, DE, Debnam, KJ and Strausser, A (2019). “I’m a stalker and proud of it”: Adolescent girls’ perceptions of the mixed utilities associated with internet and social networking use in their dating relationships. Youth & Society, 51(6), 773-792. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X17716948

McLean, R, Cooper, K, Sapouna, M, Fullerton-Chalmers, K and Holligan, C (2025). Adolescent stalking experiences: a qualitative exploration of the nature, impact & support needs of victims & perpetrators. Action Against Stalking.

Worthington, R (2023). ‘Understanding adolescent stalking: challenging adult bias through a developmental lens’, in Mellins, M, Wheatley, R and Flowers, C (eds) Young people, stalking awareness and domestic abuse. Palgrave Macmillan.