Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, yet many victims and criminal justice professionals underestimate its seriousness and impact. January Is National Stalking Awareness Month
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January is National Stalking Awareness Month, a time to focus on a crime that affects 3.4 million victims a year. This year's theme : "Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It." - challenges the nation to fight this dangerous crime by learning more about it.
Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, yet many victims and criminal justice professionals underestimate its seriousness and impact. In one of five cases, stalkers use weapons to harm or threaten victims, and stalking is one of the significant risk factors for homicide of women in abusive relationships. Victims suffer anxiety, social dysfunction, and severe depression at much higher rates then the general population, and many lose time from work or have to move as a result of their victimization.
Stalking is difficult to recognize, investigate, and prosecute. Unlike other crimes, stalking is not a single, easily identifiable crime but a series of acts, a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause that person fear. Stalking may take many forms, such as assaults, threats, vandalism, burglary, or animal abuse, as well as unwanted cards, calls gifts, or visits.
One in four victims reports that the stalker uses technology, such as computers, global positioning system devices, or hidden cameras, to track the victim's daily activities. Although women are more likely to be stalked than men, anyone can be a victim of stalking. Stalkers fit no standard psychological profile, and many stalkers follow their victims from one jurisdiction to another, making it difficult for authorities to investigate and prosecute their crimes.
Communities that understand stalking, however, can support victims and combat the crime, "If more people learn to recognize stalking," said Regina Turner, Executive Director of Bay Area Women's Center, "We have a better chance to protect victims and prevent tragedies."
Bay Area Women's Center offers presentations to promote awareness and public education about stalking during the annual observance. For more information, please contact Jessica Gregory at (989) 686-4551.
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Julie McCallum, Senior Staff |
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