Recognise stalking for what it is, a crime.

Are you being harassed, intimidated or followed? Are you being stalked?

If you are experiencing unwanted attention that makes you feel threatened and frightened, you don’t have to suffer in silence. Read on to find out how we can help and support you.

Our West Midlands Stalking Support Service covers the Black Country, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry, and can support both women and men.

#Stalkingis

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What is stalking?

Stalking when someone carries out a persistent pattern of behaviour that makes you feel harassed and threatened, and disrupts your life. This can include ‘in-person’ actions such as following you or turning up at your home or workplace, as well as unwanted contact or attention by phone or social media.

Stalking may begin with one-off incidents that build up over time and become a pattern. This can make it hard to recognise at the beginning. It may be someone you know, someone you have been in a relationship with, or someone you have never met. The important thing is that their behaviour is unwanted and unwelcome.

You might feel worried that you did something to ‘encourage’ this behaviour, but being stalked is not your fault. No-one has the right to invade your privacy, restrict your freedom, or make you feel threatened.

What the law says?

Watch our video

Need help? Call us on 0121 553 0090

Are you being stalked? Do you recognise any of the following?

  • Persistently attempting to contact you in person, on the phone, online, or via social media
  • Following you, or getting other people to follow you
  • Persistent unwanted gifts, even things like flowers or chocolates
  • Setting up fake social media profiles or websites to make allegations about you or defame you in other ways
  • Turning up at your workplace, school, or hanging around other places you might be
  • Contacting your friends and family to threaten you or gain information about you
  • Damaging your property or breaking into your house
  • Not stopping their behaviour when they are asked; escalating to breaching civil or criminal orders.

These are just some of the ways a stalker may behave, there are lots of other types of unwanted behaviours that a stalker may use.

What does the law say?
How you might be feeling
How BCWA can help
What do I do now?

Stalking is a criminal offence

Stalking was made a criminal offence in 2012 through amendments made to the Protection from Harassment Act. While there is no single legal definition of stalking, the law provides examples of stalking behaviour, eg:
· Following, watching or spying on a person
· Forcing contact with a person
· Monitoring a person’s use of the internet
· Loitering in a place
· Interfering with any property in possession of a person

The effect of such behaviour is to curtail someone’s freedom, leaving them feeling that they constantly have to be careful. Even if the conduct itself appears innocent, (if taken in isolation), it amounts to stalking if carried out repeatedly, causing significant alarm, harassment or distress.

The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 created two new offences of stalking by inserting new sections into the previous Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The offences cover stalking that involves fear of violence, or stalking that causes serious alarm or distress to the victim(s).

You may feel conflicted and confused

You may feel conflicted and confused, and unsure whether what is happening to you is stalking or not.
Stalkers can use very subtle methods and may not always appear threatening. You may have strong emotions for the person who is stalking you, particularly if the stalker is an ex-partner or family member, and worry about getting that person in trouble. The person stalking may appear to give plausible reasons for their behaviour (i.e. I miss you, I just want to see my child, I just like speaking to you, it’s just a coincidence, you’re imagining things)
You might feel that by ignoring the behaviour it will go away, or that telling someone will make things worse. You may speak to friends and family who can give you very conflicting guidance; or you might not feel you can involve them because you want to protect them.
Sound familiar?

Talking to someone

Talking to someone who understands the behaviour and the impact of stalking can help!

Call us……..we will listen to you and immediately provide you with specialist stalking advice and information. We can allocate you to one of our specially trained Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworkers (ISACs) who will arrange to meet with you at a location convenient to you, or can work with you over the phone if you would prefer.

The ISACs will discuss safety planning with you, including personal and home security. We can also discuss your rights under civil and criminal law to pursue protective measures. We can assist you to report the crimes you are experiencing to the police, but we will not pressure you to report if you do not feel ready. If you do report stalking to the police, we will support you throughout your journey to court and beyond.

You do not have to feel alone or isolated by what you’re experiencing we are here to listen and provide the help and support you need.

Talk to someone

Contact Black Country Women’s Aid’s Stalking Support Service for independent advice and support

Record what is happening
Keeping a diary can help you to build up a picture of what is happening. This can be very important if you choose to report to the police. Write down as much as possible about each incident as soon as you can after it happens, including:
· The date, time and place of the incident
· What happened: what did you see or hear? Was anyone harmed, or any property damaged?
· Who carried out the behaviour? Do you have any relationship to them?
· How did it make you feel?
· Were there any other witnesses? Include their contact details if you have them.

You should also keep any evidence you can, including: texts, voicemails, emails, screenshots of social media contacts or posts; gifts or other items left for you; photos, video or security camera footage.

Call the police
In an emergency, call 999, or contact 101 to report stalking behaviour in a non-emergency situation.

Information for professionals

Any professional working with adults or children may come across stalking. If you become aware of behaviour you suspect is stalking please call us to discuss your concerns and we will offer specialist advice to support you in your role.

If you want to make a referral to the team, all you need to do is call our dedicated single point of contact team on 0121 553 0090. You DO NOT need to complete referral forms, you can simply provide the information over the phone or send us a secure email.

We also offer a free training programme for professionals; visit our Eventbrite page for upcoming dates.

 

Contact us: 0121 553 0090

Need help? Call us on 0121 553 0090

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