2. Stalking Awareness Month
Unwanted phone calls, messages, letters Unwanted gifts Unexpected/unwanted presence Stalked
While individually these acts may not be criminal, collectively and repetitively these behaviors may cause a victim to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a family member.

3. West Virginia Stalking Laws
Subsection (a)
Subsection (b)
Any person who repeatedly follows another knowing or having reason to know that the conduct causes the person followed to reasonably fear for his or her safety or suffer significant emotional distress, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated in the county or regional jail for not more than six months or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both.
Any person who repeatedly harasses or repeatedly makes credible threats against another is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated in the county or regional jail for not more than six months or fined not more than one thousand or both.
WV Foundation for Rape Information & Services
The National Center for Victims of Crime's Stalking Resource Center defines stalking as "a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person fear.“
Stalking vs. Harassment: stalking = following causing reasonable fear. Harassment = repeatedly harass or make credible threats.
Every situation is different. Because many of the behaviors may be viewed as innocent or even romantic, stalking and harassment can be difficult to prove, much less prosecute. Give example of 1 bouquet of flowers vs 50 bouquets of flowers.

4. Stalking Behavior Obsessive Violates privacy Dead pets Threats
Attempted harm
Monitoring electronic use
Vandalism
Unwanted gifts
Steals belongings (i.e. mail)
Frequent phone calls and hang-ups
Frequents work place/school/home
Sends photographs
Messages, Letters, s
Attempts to contact victim via friends & family
Jodie foster’s stalker – shoots at ronald reagan – targets others to get her attention (2 years) other celebrity stalkers.
Socially inept – or incapable of relationships so they tend to fantasize.
Cannot separate fact from fiction. Robert Bardo murders tv actress Shafer
Mark David Chapman – shot John Lennon -- beatles fan very religious…Lennon says “Beatles are more popular than Jesus” Chapman waits outside of apartment – asks for autograph – waits for Lennon to arrive home 12 hours later and shoots him.
Behavioral Addictions - impulsive and aggressive features. Heightened desire for rewards (gambling = money) Prefrontal cortex (reason, impulsivity) less active
Most common = ex-lovers 1993 William Brunner, stalks for 5 months, shoots ex wife. Need to possess and conquer, Ubiquitous
Most extreme are those fueled by mental illness
Over a million Americans are stalked each year.

5. Stalker? Stranger Danger Male vs Female Socioeconomic status
Occupation
Only 10% of victims are stalked by a stranger. 3 out of 4 victims are stalked by someone they know.
Women are at greater risk for stalking victimization; women and men are equally likely to experience harassment.
David Ajemian, priest, stalked Conan O’Brien, also attended Harvard University.

6. Who is the Victim? 1 in 4 women 1 in 13 men
Ages 18 to 24 experience highest rate of stalking (Baum et al., 2009)
My Crazy Obsession
Women are more likely to be stalked than men, but women and men are equally likely to experience harassment.
State relevance to age group.
Play 45 seconds of clip to reveal obsessive behavior

7. Impact of Stalking on Victims
46% of stalking victims fear not knowing what will happen next. 29% of stalking victims fear the stalking will never stop. 1 in 8 employed stalking victims lose time from work as a result of their victimization and more than half lose 5 days of work or more.
1 in 7 stalking victims move as a result of their victimization.
The prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression is much higher among stalking victims than the general population, especially if the stalking involves being followed or having property destroyed
[Eric Blauuw et al., “The Toll of Stalking,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
17, no. 1 (2002):50-63.]
11% of victims have been stalked for 5 years or more.
Anxiety
Depression
Financial difficulty
Relocation
Shame
Loss of social life

8. Is it just stalking?
76% of intimate partner feminicide victims have been stalked by their intimate partner.
67% had been physically abused by their intimate partner.
89% who had been physically assaulted had been stalked in the 12 months before their murder.
54% reported stalking to police before they were killed by their stalkers.
[Judith McFarlane et al., “Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide,” Homicide
Studies 3, no. 4 (1999).]
The killing of women – depending on cultural context. “killing of females by males because they are females”

9. Help Report stalking or harassment to the police
WV FRIS
FRC
HOPE
RDVIC
REACH
SAHC
SWC
WAIC
WRC
Report stalking or harassment to the police
File P.O. application/affidavit
Inform friends, family, employer
Document all encounters, messages, threats, etc.
Even if police cannot take action, report leads to documentation.
File for protective order.
Give example of Laura Black and stalker Richard Farley. Farley stalked Black for four years before shooting seven coworkers and wounding four others in front of Black.

10. Safe Planning Be less predictable Trust your instincts
Take any threats seriously
Use caution when sharing personal information
Spend more time in the company of friends and family
Be less predictable
Trust your instincts
Address safety issues with electronic tracking
Keep a phone handy at all times
Electronic tracking – delete history, do not list home address or current locations,