To the editor:

January 2019 marks the 15th National Stalking Awareness Month (NSAM). Stalking is a pattern of behavior or conduct directed at a specific person that causes the person to feel afraid, nervous, harassed, or in danger.

Stalking is unpredictable and dangerous. Some stalkers never make any direct threats towards their victims. The stalkers themselves may feel they are not committing a crime. Stalking takes many forms, and may start out as contacts that seem coincidental (i.e. being in the same public places at the same time), but then escalate into more serious behaviors. These behaviors can include: repeated contact through phone calls, text messages and emails; the stalker driving by or showing up at the victim’s home, work or school; sending unwanted gifts or letters; using technology to track the victim’s daily activities; or using social media to spread information or rumors about the victim. Stalking can also include assaults, threats, vandalism, and burglary. While stalking is a terrifying and psychologically harmful crime on its own, it is also a predictor of potentially lethal violence: in 85% of cases where an intimate partner attempted to murder his female partner, stalking preceded the attack [McFarlane et al., Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide, 3(4) Homicide Studies 300-16 (1999)].

While women (1 in 6) are more likely to be stalked than men (1 in 17), anyone can become a victim of stalking, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic status. More often than not, victims know their stalker. According to the 2011 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 61% of women and 44% of men reported being stalked by their current or former partner, and 25% of women and 32% of men reported being stalked by an acquaintance. Victims and survivors often suffer anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression as a result of their victimization, and miss work or school as a result of the stalking.

Unfortunately, stalking behavior is often minimized and misunderstood. Friends, family, and victims themselves may try to rationalize the behavior. Victims may be told they are making too much out of what is occurring, and they are encouraged to interpret someone’s repeated attentions as romantic or desirable.

NSAM’s theme is “Stalking: Know It. Name It. Stop It.” While police and victim-serving professionals are critical in helping stalking victims, 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. If you or someone you know is being stalked, contact your local law enforcement agency, Minnesota Day One Crisis Line at 1-866-223-1111, or if the stalker is a current or former partner, the Committee Against Domestic Abuse St. Peter Office at 507-934-5583.

Michelle Zehnder Fischer

Nicollet County Attorney

Bonnie Petersen

Nicollet County Victim/Witness Coordinator