Restraining Orders

Stalking is when an adult or minor who is at least 13 years old¹ willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly harasses you or follows you, including with a tracking device, in a way that:

• would cause a “reasonable person” or a member of his/her immediate family to feel frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or bothered (molested); and
• actually causes that person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or bothered (molested).²

It is important to understand the legal definitions of the terms in bold:

“Harasses” is defined as a pattern or course of conduct that includes, but is not limited to:

• repeated or continuing unconsented contact that would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress, and that actually causes emotional distress to the victim;
• making obscene, threatening or harassing calls or other electronic communications; or
• committing malicious intimidation or harassment because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability.³

A “course of conduct” is defined as a series of two or more separate acts that includes any of the following:

1. following you or appearing within your sight;
2. approaching or confronting you in a public place or on private property;
3. appearing at your workplace or home;
4. entering onto or remaining on property that you own, lease, or occupy;
5. contacting you by telephone, text message, mail, electronic message, e-mail, or other electronic communications;
6. placing an object on, or delivering an object to, property that you own, lease or occupy; 
7. tracking you with a GPS tracker or other device;
8. causing your phone or electronic device, or the phone or electronic device of any other person, to ring or generate notifications repeatedly or continuously;
9. photographing, videotaping, audiotaping, or, through any other electronic means, monitoring or recording your activities;
10. sending you any physical or electronic material;
11. contacting you by any means, including any message, comment, or other content posted on any Internet site or web application;
12. sending your family/household member, your friend, or your current or former employer or coworker any physical or electronic material or contacting such person by any means, including any message, comment, or other content posted on any Internet site or web application, for the purpose of getting information about you, communicating with you, or spreading information about you;
13. delivering an object to your family/household member, your friend, or your current or former employer or coworker, or placing an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied by such a person with the intent that the object be delivered to you;
14. contacting your employer, coworkers, or your neighbors; or
15. causing someone else to do any of the acts described above.⁴ 

Unconsented contact means any contact by the stalker that is made without your consent or after you specifically asked that the contact stop. It includes, but is not limited to, the acts listed above in numbers 1 through 7.⁵

Note: The rest of the information in this section will discuss protective orders against someone who is a family/household member or intimate partner. To read more about protective orders due to stalking against non-intimate partners and non-family members, go to our Stalking Protective Orders page.

¹ 22 O.S. § 60.1(9)
² 21 O.S. § 1173(A)(1), (A)(2)
³ 21 O.S. § 1173(F)(1)
⁴ 21 O.S. § 1173(F)(2), (F)(6)
⁵ 21 O.S. § 1173(F)(4)