跟追行為於現代社會之嚴重性與普及，實已超乎一般人之想像。而社會之發展與科技之普及，更是讓跟追行為之型態愈形複雜與普遍，而不再拘泥於電話騷擾、身體上之盯哨或接近之行為。然不管是哪種方式之騷擾，對被跟追人而言，其所造成之恐懼與痛苦並無不同。被跟追不僅因此失去隱私與自由，其日常生活與工作亦常會因此受到嚴重影響。有鑑於此，歐美各國於1990年代初期，即先後針對跟追行為訂定專法。其中，更以美國反跟追之發展最令人矚目。1990年，加州成為全美第一個通過反跟追法（Anti-stalking Law），將跟追行為定為犯罪之地區。之後，全美各地亦陸續跟進。1996年，聯邦政府亦加入反跟追法之行列。從聯邦至各州，美國之反跟追法不論係就行為人之主觀要件、行為要件、規範之行為態樣抑或是司法機關為預防危險制止跟追行為得採行之手段與程序等，均有頗為詳盡之規定。反觀我國，雖有社會秩序維護法第89條第2款針對跟追行為為規範，然審視該款之規定，不僅未就何謂跟追訂有明確涵義，其構成要件，與美國之反跟追法相比，亦較為簡略而難以涵蓋現代社會中各種跟追糾纏行為之態樣與違法內涵。是故，為落實對被跟追人之保護及社會安全之維護，實有必要就我國現行跟追行為之規範加以檢討並研擬更周延之規定。本文擬藉由美國相關立法之研究，做為我國未來建構相關法制之參考。

Stalking is a crime of terror. It is one part threat and one part waiting for the threat to be carried out. While not every case of stalking result in the death of the victim, stalking has a tremendous emotional and psychological impact on the lives of those who are targeted. However, the victim of stalking usually has no way to resolve the threat and terror he or she feels. Over the last few decades, stalking has become increasingly prevalent throughout the civilized world, and the increase in cyberstalking (stalking over the internet) gives even greater cause for concern. In order to combat this problem, antistalking legislation has been introduced in United States and the most Western nations. In 1990, California enacted the first stalking law. Since then, all 50 states, and the federal government have passed laws criminalizing stalking. By studying stalking laws in the United States, this article tries to propose a constitutionally valid and effective legal response to the problem of stalking in Taiwan.