January is National Stalking Awareness Month. The theme for 2015 is “Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It.”
The National Center for Victims of Crime launched National Stalking Awareness Month (NSAM) in January of 2004 to increase the public’s understanding of the crime of stalking. NSAM emerged from the work of the Stalking Resource Center, a National Center program funded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice, to raise awareness about stalking and help develop and implement multidisciplinary responses to the crime. NSAM began in response to a 2003 call to the Stalking Resource Center from Debbie Riddle, the sister of murdered stalking victim Peggy Klinke.
An estimated 23.4 million men and women in the United States have experienced stalking during their lifetimes. 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. 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. 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. Victims often suffer from anxiety, social dysfunction, and 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.
If you or anyone you know is currently a victim of stalking, contact your local law enforcement agency for assistance. If you are interested in learning more about resources for stalking victims, visit the Stalking Resource Center.
Thanks for visiting and learning a little about National Stalking Awareness Month.
