JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
January 2020 marks the 16th National Stalking Awareness Month, an annual call to action to recognize and respond to the serious crime of stalking. It is critical to raise the issue of stalking as its own form of violence as well as a crime that frequently predicts and co-occurs with physical and sexual assault. Stalking impacts over 1 in 6 women and 1 in 17 men in the United States yet, despite the prevalence and impacts, many victims and criminal justice professionals underestimate its danger and urgency.
Stalking is defined as a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that causes fear. Many stalking victims experience being followed, approached, monitored and/or threatened – including through various forms of technology. Victims and survivors often suffer anxiety, social dysfunction, and severe depression as a result of their victimization, and many lose time from work and/or move. Stalking is a terrifying and psychologically harmful crime in its own right as well as a predictor of potentially lethal violence: in 85% of cases where an intimate partner (i.e., boyfriend or husband) attempted to murder his female partner, stalking occurred the year prior to the attack.
Stalking is a crime in all 50 states, the U.S. Territories and the District of Columbia – as well as tribal lands and in the military justice system -- but can be difficult to recognize and prosecute in a system designed to respond to singular incidents rather than the series of acts that constitutes stalking.
National Stalking Awareness Month’s theme —“Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It.” – is a call to action for everyone at JB MDL and across the country. While police and victim-serving professionals are critical, the reality is that the vast majority of victims tell friends or family about the stalking first.
“We all have a role to play in identifying stalking, intervening when necessary and supporting victims and survivors,” said Janis Doss, JBMDL Violence Prevention Integrator (VPI). “It is important for everyone to recognize stalking and do something to prevent harm. Everyone does not have to do everything – but everyone has to do something.”
For more information, please contact Janis Doss, JB MDL Violence Prevention Integrator, (609) 754-4724 or email janis.doss@us.af.mil.
For additional resources to help promote National Stalking Awareness Month, please visit http://stalkingawareness.org and www.ovw.usdoj.gov.