‘Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It.’

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, a time to focus on a crime that affected 7.5 million victims in one year. The 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, the U.S. Territories 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 femicide (homicide of women) in abusive relationships. Victims suffer anxiety, social dysfunction, severe depression at much higher rates than 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 report that the stalker uses technology, such as computers, global positioning systems devices or hidden cameras, to track the victim’s daily activities. 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.

If more people and communities learn to understand and recognize stalking, there’s a better chance to protect victims and prevent tragedies.

To learn more about stalking, visit the Stalking Resource Center at www.victimsofcrime.org/src. The SRC envisions a future in which the criminal justice system and its many allied community partners will effectively collaborate and respond to stalking, improve victim safety and well-being and hold offenders accountable.

Barb Dinkel Goodrich

General Crime Services Coordinator

Hands of Hope Resource Center – Todd County