Post Malone stalking case sheds light on male victims
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Post Malone in April in Salt Lake City. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
Post Malone's ongoing case against a stalker in Utah is calling attention to an overlooked issue: men constituting a larger share of stalking victims than might be expected.
Why it matters: Nationally, about 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have experienced stalking, according to the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center.
- Victims of stalking are more likely to experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD and panic attacks, per the resource center.
The big picture: While women make up the majority of stalking victims in the U.S., domestic violence advocates say men's stalking experiences are often underreported, burdened by stigmatization and sometimes minimized by the victims themselves.
The latest: 31-year-old Cherish Gomer was arrested Monday near the Grammy-nominated artist's Cottonwood Heights home and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail under suspicion of stalking with a prior conviction and for violating a permanent criminal stalking injunction, according to jail records. Both are third-degree felonies.
- Court documents show Gomer has been arrested multiple times in recent months for criminal trespassing and stalking.
- Malone's father, Rich Post, told KSL-TV the woman has repeatedly arrived at his son's home but keeps coming back even after police intervention.
- She was convicted and served with a permanent restraining order in May, court documents show.
An attorney for Gomer was not listed in court documents.
By the numbers: In Utah, about 34% of Utah women and 21% of Utah men face physical violence, sexual violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lives, per data from the Utah Office for Victims of Crime (UOVC).
- Most victims are stalked by someone they know, like a former or current partner or an acquaintance, according to the resource center.
What they're saying: Malone's case illustrates that even someone with financial resources, who follows all the recommended steps to protect themselves, can still struggle to escape a stalker, according to Kimmi Wolf, communications and engagement specialist for the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition.
- "Many facets of a male being stalked are very similar, if not the same, as a female being stalked," Wolf said.
- She added that men will typically write off warning signs, including repeatedly seeing their stalker in public, as a coincidence instead of a red flag.
Zoom in: In Utah, civil stalking injunctions are more common than criminal stalking injunctions because they require a lower standard of proof, according to UOVC.
Note: RAINN offers resources for stalking or cyberstalking. To speak with a trained support specialist, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online in English at online.rainn.org or in Spanish at RAINN.org/es.