News and Press Releases

January is National Stalking Awareness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2011

            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.  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 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.  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 are able to help law enforcement, can support victims and combat the crime.  “If more people learn to recognize stalking,” said Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney, “we have a better chance to protect victims and prevent tragedies.”

            For additional resources to learn about National Stalking Awareness Month, please visit http://stalkingawarenessmonth.org and www.ovw.usdoj.gov .