Stealing is an act of taking other people’s property by illegal means. A thief and other criminal acts are very detrimental to their victims. Victims can suffer losses both materially and psychologically. Of course, under normal circumstances, a person who is a victim of a crime will hate and curse the person who committed the crime against him. However, there are some abnormalities that occur where a victim will empathize with the perpetrator of a crime who has harmed him. Of course this is not something normal and reasonable.

Stockholm syndrome is a condition in which a psychological bond is formed within the hostage to the hostage-taker. This syndrome results from a fairly specific set of circumstances, namely imbalanced power relations during hostage-taking, kidnapping, or abusive relationships. The syndrome’s name is taken from the Sveriges Kreditbank robbery in Stockholm in 1973. The bank robbers, Jan-Erik Olsson and Clark Olofsson, owned weapons and held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. When the victim was finally released, their reaction was even hugged and kissed the robbers who had taken them hostage. They become emotionally attached to the hostage takers, even defending them. The term Stockholm syndrome was first coined by criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assists police during robberies.

The following are well-known cases that may involve people with Stockholm syndrome. Colleen Stan, Or Carol Smith was held hostage alive from 1977 to 1984 by Cameron and Janice Hooker in a locked wooden box. He slept in a coffin-shaped box under Hooker’s bed. During the hostage, Colleen was repeatedly tortured and sexually assaulted. Colleen Stan never ran away, although there seemed to be a chance she could. Patty Hearst helps the SLA rob a bank two months after his abduction Heir to billionaire Patty Hearst, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. After two months in captivity, he took an active part in the robbery they planned. Natascha Kampusch, a 10-year-old Austrian girl abducted by Wolfgang Priklopil before escaping at the age of 18 in 2006, shows signs of suffering from Stockholm syndrome, as evidenced by her grief after her captor’s suicide. Steven Stayner, a boy from Merced, California, was kidnapped at the age of 7 and held captive for more than 7 years from late 1972 to early 1980. Sano Fusako, a woman in Japan was kidnapped at the age of 10 and held captive for 9 years from 1990 to 2000. Tanya Kach, a Pennsylvania woman was held captive at Thomas Hose’s home from 1996 to 2006. Lena Sisihina, 17, and Katya Martynova, 14, were kidnapped by factory worker Viktor Mokhov, 53. Viktor treated the two teenagers as sex slaves in the cellar for 3.5 years from 2000 to 2004.

With the emergence of various events that refer to Stockholm syndrome, we should be careful with how to raise awareness of our mental health so that When we feel that we need to go to a psychologist or psychiatrist, we will not doubt our decisions and can avoid distractions. – Psychological disorders that may occur in the future.

References:

Behr, Felix (2020-09-03). “The Strange Origin Of Stockholm Syndrome”. Grunge.com (dalam bahasa Inggris). Diakses tanggal 2022-09-19.

Jameson, Celia (2010). “The Short Step From Love to Hypnosis: A Reconsideration of the Stockholm Syndrome”. Journal for Cultural Research. 14 (4).

Michael Adorjan, Dorothy Pawluch, Benjamin Kelly, Tony Christensen (Juni 2012). “Stockholm Syndrome as Vernacular Resource”. Sociological Quarterly. 53 (3).

Singh, Sonya (Januari–Februari 2022). “Stockholm Syndrome: A Psychiatric Diagnosis or Just a Myth?”. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development. 6 (2).

Tom Whitwell, Jess Hill. “Stockholm Syndrome” was invented by police to discredit a female hostage” (dalam bahasa Inggris). Diakses tanggal 2022-09-07.