Letter To The Editor: January Is Stalking Awareness Month

Editor's note: The following letter was submitted to Patch by Lynne Feldman, Special Project Coordinator, Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA).

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, a time to focus on a crime that affects 3.4 million victims a year. Because stalking is not like most other single, easily identifiable crimes, it is difficult to recognize and can be hard to investigate and prosecute.

Rather, stalking is a series of acts, a course of conduct, directed at a specific person causing her – or him – to be afraid. It could be assaults, open threats, vandalism, burglary or animal abuse. Or it could come in a subtler form as unwanted calls, cards, gifts or visits. One in four victims reports that the stalker uses technology – such as computers, GPS devices, hidden cameras or the myriad cell phone features – to track a victim’s daily activities. In one in 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 and severe depression at much higher rates than the general population, and many lose time from work or have to relocate as a result of their victimization.

Stalkers also fit no standard psychological profile and have been known to follow their victims from one jurisdiction to another – both making it even more difficult for authorities to investigate and prosecute their crimes.

And even though stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, many victims and criminal justice professionals underestimate its seriousness and impact.

Communities that understand stalking, however, can support victims and combat the crime. If more people, both individuals and law enforcement agencies, learn to recognize stalking, we have a much better chance to protect victims and prevent tragedies. We can change the statistics and ensure a life of greater security and freedom for many individuals.

To learn more, visit http://stalkingawarenessmonth.org. If you think you may be a victim of a stalker, call your local police department or NOVA’s confidential 24-hour hotline 1-800.675.6900.

Lynne Feldman, MSW, LSW

Special Project Coordinator
Network of Victim Assistance
215-343-6543
Lynne@NOVABucks.org