NCVS Supplemental Victimization Survey

The Supplemental Victimization Survey (SVS), a supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), is primarily an effort to measure the prevalence of stalking victimization among persons, the characteristics of stalking victims, and patterns of reporting to the police and other authorities. The SVS was first conducted in 2006 and again in 2016. According to the Supplemental Victimization Survey (SVS), individuals are classified as stalking victims if they experienced at least one of these behaviors on at least two separate occasions.

In addition, the individuals must have feared for their safety or that of a family member as a result of the course of conduct, or have experienced additional threatening behaviors that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.

The SVS measured stalking behaviors as: - making unwanted phone calls - sending unsolicited or unwanted letters or e-mails - following or spying on the victim - showing up at places without a legitimate reason - waiting at places for the victim - leaving unwanted items, presents, or flowers - posting information or spreading rumors about the victim on the internet, in a public place, or by word of mouth.