Office on Violence Against Women Event

Department executives and panel members stand for the opening of the Stalking Awareness Event. This program featured a panel of speakers who shared their involvement in one family's experience as victims of stalking, and their work to investigate and identify stalking behavior, and make changes to a state law to protect victims.

Susan Carbon, Director of the Office on Violence Against Women opened the event focusing on the complexities and impact of stalking crimes. Quoting Ms. Carbon, Stalking, a complex and often dangerous crime, is sometimes difficult to recognize. Providing appropriate responses can also be challenging for communities that do not understand what stalking is. This national observance of Stalking Awareness Month is intended to provide information about the crime and support to victims and to those who work to prevent and end behaviors associated with stalking."

Attorney General Holder welcomes an audience of victim advocates, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, congressional staffers and representatives from national organizations to the 2011 stalking awareness event.

Eric Holder, Attorney General recommitted the Department to continue its efforts to protect women from violence. A.G. Holder told the audience, "Commemorating National Stalking Awareness Month today allows the department to underscore our commitment and efforts to prevent violence against women, to empower victims, and to hold perpetrators accountable and bring them to justice."

Program with the backdrop of Great Hall - the location for the 2011 Stalking Awareness Event sponsored by the Office on Violence Against Women. According to a report by the Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics, during a 12-month period, an estimated 3.4 million persons age 18 or older were victims of stalking. Additional findings included that approximately one in four stalking victims reported some form of cyberstalking such as e-mail and nearly three in four stalking victims knew the offender in some capacity.

Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli addresses the audience at the Stalking Awareness event. Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli stated, "Stalking is a crime that affects families, work colleagues, and entire communities. Therefore, when we help communities recognize stalking behavior as criminal and provide tools to help them deal with this crime, we support victims and take a step towards ending violence against women."