Know it. Name it. Stop it

One in every six American women and one in 17 men have been impacted by the psychological terror of being stalked. This January marks the fifteenth National Stalking Awareness Month, a call to action to recognize and respond to a serious crime that too often goes unrecognized and unaddressed – sometimes, until it is too late.

Crook County Family Violence will be marking the occasion with a training session on January 18 to educate the community about stalking and the impacts it can have that are often underestimated.

“The training will break down the definition of stalking in a broad sense and we will go over the Wyoming statute. Participants will learn stalking behaviors and dynamics,” says Sarah Crawford, CCFV.

“The training will cover the different methods used to stalk and we will watch a video about a particular stalking case and breakdown what happened and apply what we’ve learned. We will also take look at the impact on victims and how stalking can be minimized and disguised as unrequited love, being romantic, or as harmless.”

Even in the cozy communities of Crook County, stalking can make itself felt – and has done so more often than we might think. CCFV has worked with 20 incidents of stalking since 2016, though this number may not include every case in which stalking is involved.

“These are cases that are strictly stalking,” Crawford explains.

“A lot of the domestic violence cases include stalking, but they are categorized as domestic violence. And, of course, stalking is not reported all the time.”

The definition of stalking is a pattern of behavior that is directed at a specific person and causes fear. It may include following, approaching, monitoring or threatening a victim, including through the medium of technology.

Stalkers may approach victims, turn up in places where their victim did not want them to be, call them on the phone, leave them messages, watch or follow them from a distance or even spy on the victim with listening devices, cameras or GPS. According to the Stalking Resource Center, two out of three stalkers pursue their victims at least once a week, and some daily, using more than one method, and weapons are used to harm or threaten victims in 20 percent of cases.

Understandably, the effects a person may suffer after being psychologically victimized in this way can be severe. Survivors often report anxiety, social dysfunction and depression and some may lose time from work or feel compelled to move to a different area.

These symptoms are unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg. While stalking can be terrifying in its own right, it is also known to be a predictor of violence – and potentially lethal consequences.

In 85 percent of cases where an intimate partner such as a boyfriend or husband attempted to murder a female partner, the attack was preceded by stalking, according to the Stalking Resource Center. Stalking both predicts and co-occurs with both physical and sexual assault.

But while stalking is a crime in Wyoming, as it is across all 50 states, the U.S. territories and D.C., it sometimes proves difficult to recognize and prosecute. The justice system is designed to respond to single incidents, not the series of acts that combine to constitute stalking.

The theme of National Stalking Awareness Month is “Know It. Name It. Stop It” in recognition of the fact that most victims will tell friends or family what is happening to them before they approach police or victim services.

“We all have a role to play in identifying stalking, intervening when necessary and supporting victims and survivors,” says Sandra Stevens, Director of CCFV.

Stevens encourages the community to attend the CCFV training session on January 18, 2019 to promote awareness and receive education about stalking during the annual observance. For more information, please contact CCFV at 307-283-2415.