Stalking cause for concern, not jokes
April 22, 2009
By Nathan Harmon
Staff Writer
www.consumerist.com The above t-shirt caused a controversy after |
Who would have thought that a bouquet of flowers was evidence of stalking?
If delivered a certain way, they certainly could be, according to Michelle M. Garcia, Director of the Stalking Resource Center, part of the National Center for Victims of Crime. Last Wednesday, in her presentation, “Real fear, Real Crime: Stalking Victimization in the United States,” she gave demographics and descriptions of stalking.
Even non-criminal behaviors can be stalking, according to Garcia, because the context is important.
The definition of stalking is “a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.” So, sending a dozen roses could be a criminal offense, if those dozen roses were used to signify something malevolent in the stalking victim’s mind and make them feel fear of death.
Stalking is a serious issue, especially on campus, Garcia reported. Annually, 3.4 million people are stalked, and 18-24 year-olds experience the highest rate of stalking. Along with stalking comes the risk of other victimization, because in three-quarters of stalking cases, other crimes were reported along with the stalking behavior.
There are higher rates of stalking on college campuses than elsewhere, Garcia said. On campus, more than 13 percent of female students reported that they were stalked. However, in general, more than 83 percent of stalking cases are not reported to police.
Risk for stalking comes most for those people who have a “propensity to be in places with alcohol,” who live alone, who have been in a dating relationship, or who are an undergraduate and/or living on campus.
Garcia used an example of a MySpace page that listed each course the student was taking as an opening for a stalker to know the student’s whereabouts.
“Why do people stalk?” she questioned.
Because of lust, affection, rejection, obsession, power and control, planning to commit a crime and “because they can,” Garcia said, people stalk others. She added that most people who stalk others are not mentally ill.
Stalking is definitely a crime, but in the media, there are examples of stalking made humorous as well as products that make light of stalking. Garcia noted movies and t-shirts that made jokes of stalking, like There’s Something about Mary and a t-shirt that Wal-mart sold which said, “Some call it stalking, I call it love.”
Garcia said, “Wal-mart wouldn’t sell a shirt ‘Some call it rape, I call it love.’”
On campus, she mentioned, there is a lot one can do to prevent stalking and help stalking victims, such as addressing the issue publicly, creating educational programs, supporting advocacy and bystander intervention, and promoting criminal or civil charges and the documentation of suspicious activity.
As an individual, you can educate yourself and share info because, “all of us have a role we can play,” she said.
During the presentation, the UIS Women’s Center and Sojourn Shelter and Services had tables set up for awareness of their services.
Lynn Otterson, Director of the Women’s Center, said that they offer help to victims of stalking and domestic violence. Candi Clouse, from Sojourn, echoed her sentiments.
Otterson called Garcia's presentation “one piece of broader work,” and said that she personally was inspired to “make a more peaceful and better world.”
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