News – Sheridan Media
January 2023 marks the nineteenth annual National Stalking Awareness Month. This is an annual call to action to recognize and respond to the serious crime of stalking.
According to the Stalking Prevention Awareness and Resource Center, the definition of stalking is to harass or persecute someone with unwanted and obsessive attention. A pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others, or suffer substantial emotional distress.
Nearly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have experienced stalking victimization at some point in their lifetime.
More than half of all victims of stalking indicated that they were stalked before the age of 25, and nearly 1 in 4 were stalked before the age of 18.
While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program, Sheridan Advocacy and Resource Center Executive Director Yvonne Swanson said victims of stalking in Sheridan share a large percentage of the people the center helps.
Y. Swanson
If someone feels they may be the victim of a stalker, Swanson advises them to contact law enforcement as quickly as possible. If someone feels harassment via social media or cell phones may be stalking, law enforcement or advocates at the Advocacy and Resource Center have the knowledge to help make that determination. But, remember, advocates at the center are not lawyers or members of law enforcement.
If you or someone you love is the victim of violent crime or domestic violence, reach out to the Advocacy and Resource Center by clicking here.
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Last modified: January 11, 2023