Sexual Assault Services Recognizes Stalking Awareness Month

Stalking is about to get a lot of attention in Maine. Downeast Health’s Sexual Assault Services is promoting awareness about stalking in January, which is National Stalking Awareness Month. National Stalking Awareness Month is a time to focus on a crime that significantly impacts at least 1 in 10 Mainers.^[1]

A Maine-based 2011 crime victimization study found that stalking has one of the highest victimization rates of crimes in Maine.^[2] Additionally, not only are stalking victims more likely to be the victims of other crimes, but reporting to law enforcement has dropped significantly in the last five years despite an increase in incidents.^[3]

Stalking, a crime in Maine and all other states in the U.S., is often hard to recognize and many victims have difficulty coming forward. “It’s important to raise awareness about stalking, and help Mainers to learn to recognize signs of stalking,” says Melissa Gray, Sexual Assault Director of Downeast Health’s Sexual Assault Services. “By talking about the issue and fostering awareness, we get closer to creating a better environment for victims to seek help. Stalking Awareness Month is a great opportunity to talk about this in our community. A good way to decide if something constitutes stalking is to think of it this way, Stalking is any behavior that would make a reasonable person feel threatened, intimidated, annoyed, or afraid.

Stalking Behavior
A stalker may start with small, annoying, persistent actions and progress to criminal behavior. Some examples of stalking behavior are:

• Trying to start or keep a relationship that you don't want
• Lurking around your workplace or your neighborhood.
• Repeated phone calls.
• Inappropriate gifts.
• Defamation of character or insults
• Cumulative unwanted contact of any kind.
• Unwanted repeated calls, e-mails, or letters
• Following you

We know that stalking exists on a spectrum of violence and crime,” says Gray. “We know this from the victims/survivors we serve in the Downeast region, and the recent data further proves what we see in our community. It’s so important to talk about this issue.”

Nationally, 1 in 6 women in the United States has experienced stalking at some point in her lifetime in which she felt very fearful and/or believed that she or someone close to her would be harmed or killed as a result.[4] Approximately 1 in 19 men experiences stalking.[5] More than half of female victims and more than one-third of male victims were stalked before the age of 25.[6]

If you or someone you know has experienced stalking, please call the statewide 24 hour confidential crisis and support line for help or more information: 1.800.871.7741 or TTY 1.888.458.5599.