The Bottom Line for Victims of Stalking
When dealing with a stalker:-Victims should always trust their instincts and never minimize the stalker's behavior. If you feel unsafe, assume you are unsafe, and seek assistance without delay.
- Many program providers, particularly those working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, are aware of the sensitive and difficult issues that may arise in stalking cases.
- Community based victim assistance providers include organizations such as crisis intervention centers, domestic violence shelters, and support groups which can provide victim services like counseling, court accompaniment, a safe place to stay, and advocacy. System based victim assistance providers are usually part of the police department or prosecutor's office and can provide many of the same services to victims who choose to bring charges against a perpetrator.
- If a community or system based victim service provider cannot offer suitable advice and assistance, they should still be able to make referrals to organizations that can help. If they are not able to do so please call the National Center for Victims of Crime at 1-800-FYI-CALL.
- Stalking victims are not to blame for the stalker's behavior. All victims are entitled to help from victim services professionals.
- Victims who feel anxious, depressed, or stressed for more than a short period of time should request referrals to suitable healthcare providers. Stalking can trigger conditions like depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which may benefit from treatment.
Steps Victims Can Take
The following suggestions cannot guarantee your safety but are practical steps that may reduce your risk of physical and mental harm and provide you and your family with better protection against stalking.Seek Advice from a Trained Victim Assistance Professional
-Victim assistance providers are trained to assist and support crime victims. It's their job to advise and assist on ways to keep victims safe and stop the harassment.
-They can provide critical information about state anti-stalking laws and your options, help you devise safety plans, and refer you to local services including emergency shelters.
-If you are faced with difficult choices, like applying for a protective order, moving home, or filing a police report, they can help you think through the pros and cons.
Take Simple Safety Precautions
- Vary your daily routine as much as you can.
- Change your travel routes.
- Get rides with colleagues or friends to and from work.
- Go with other parents to take your children to school and collect them.
- Try to leave home and work at different times each day.
- Do your shopping and other chores with friends or relatives.
- Plan leisure activities that involve other people.
- Protect your personal information - shred discarded mail, be wary of unsolicited inquiries, find out how much information there is about you on the internet.
Formulate a Safety Plan
- A safety plan is an important step in keeping safe. It involves thinking through short and long-term options in advance, knowing how to access help in emergencies, and having the information about services and resources before you need it.
- Safety plans should include provision for emergency shelter (in case you have to leave home without warning) as well as temporary and permanent relocation options.
- If you know the stalker, it is vital to identify safe places to stay and ways to prevent the stalker from discovering your new location. Stalkers with access to their victims' personal information can track and intimidate them more easily.
- A critical aspect of safety planning is minimizing contact with the stalker. You should tell the stalker only once (through registered mail, e-mail, or an attorney) to stop harassing you and never communicate again under any circumstances.
Collect Evidence
- Keep a written record of all stalking-related incidents and behavior, noting the time and place and names and addresses of any witnesses. Note how the incident made you feel. This may be important if your jurisdiction has a stalking law that requires instilling fear in a victim.
- Keep a written record of all communications (especially threats) made by the stalker or third parties by phone, e-mail, mail, or other means.
- Preserve evidence of all criminal behavior, including letters, packages, photos, video and voice mail, and other tapes. Start your own stalking log.
- Request copies of tapes from commercial surveillance systems as well as from personal video cameras used for security, which may contain evidence of the stalking.
- Document incidents of stalking and the stalker's behavior carefully. You need evidence of a pattern of harassment in connection with complaints to the police, criminal prosecutions, orders of protection, and civil lawsuits.
Make the most of criminal and civil protections in your state
- Check all relevant laws where you live. Victim assistance providers or your local prosecutor's office should have information about state statutes. Find your state's laws here.
- Consider what other criminal offenses the stalker has committed, for example: physical or sexual assault, damage to/theft of your property, or breaking into your home. This may make it possible to prosecute the stalker even if they can't be prosecuted under a specific stalking law.
- Find out what kinds of orders of protection are available and weigh the pros and cons of each type with help from a victim assistance provider.
- Orders of protection may have a role within an overall safety strategy. They may deter perpetrators who fear the possible consequences of their violation (arrest, prosecution, fines, and incarceration) and may also help law enforcement arrest the stalker before they become violent, but there are important safety issues to consider. Be sure to make sure that you fully understand the related safety issues before pursuing an order of protection.
- Investigate whether a civil action for damages might be an option for you.
Explore your civil justice options now. (link to http://www.victimbar.org )
Work with law enforcement
- Stalking is a serious crime. It can inflict severe emotional damage and may lead to physical and sexual violence.
- Report all stalking incidents to the police. Reports may lead to an arrest or an informal intervention (such as a warning) that sometimes helps stop the harassment.
- If you are reluctant to file a complaint because you've been intimidated or don't believe law enforcement can or will assist you, talk to a trained victim assistance professional.
- If you complain to the police and are dissatisfied with their response, call the National Center for Victims of Crime at 1-800 FYI-CALL. We can help you identify who can assist you: local victim assistance providers, your local prosecutor's office, district, state, or commonwealth's attorney or state solicitor.
How to help a relative or friend
- Always encourage your relative/friend to seek professional advice as indicated above.- Remember that the victim is not responsible for the stalker's behavior. Be sympathetic and understanding and do not blame the victim for the stalker's actions.
- Get information about local anti-stalking laws and resources.
- Educate yourself about stalkers and stalking behavior.
- Offer practical and emotional support.
- Think of ways you can personally help keep your relative/friend safe.
- If you don't know how to help, contact a local victim assistance provider or call 1-800 FYI CALL.
Helpful Organizations
Family Violence Prevention Fund
383 Rhode Island Street, Suite 304
San Francisco, CA 94103-5133
415-252-8900
www.fvpf.org
National Center for Victims of Crime
2000 M Street, NW Suite 480
Washington, DC 20036
1-800-FYI-CALL
www.ncvc.org
National Crime Victim Bar Association
2000 M Street, NW, Suite 480
Washington, DC 20038
202-467-8700
www.victimbar.org
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Copyright - 2000 by the National Victim Center. This information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed free of charge, in its entirety and includes this copyright notice