TWC Upcoming Events January is National Stalking Awareness Month We would like to take this opportunity to educate the public about this pervasive crime. Stalking affects 3.4 million victims a year. 1 Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, yet many victims and criminal justice professionals underestimate its seriousness and impact. In one of five cases, stalkers use weapons to harm or threaten victims,2  and stalking is one of the significant risk factors for femicide (homicide of women) in abusive relationships. 3 Victims suffer anxiety, social dysfunction, and severe depression at much higher rates than the general population, and many lose time from work or have to move as a result of their victimization. 4 Stalking is difficult to recognize, investigate, and prosecute. Unlike other crimes, stalking is not a single easily identifiable crime but a series of acts, a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause that person fear. Stalking may take many forms, such as assaults, threats, vandalism, buglary, or animal abuse, as well as unwanted cards, calls, gifts or visits. One in four victims report that the stalker uses technology, such as computers, global positioning system devices, or hidden cameras, to track the victim's daily activities. 5  Stalkers fit no psychological profile, and many stalkers follow their victims from one jurisdication to another, making it difficult for authorities to investigate and prosecute their crimes. Stalking in our Area The Women's Center, Inc. legal department provides anti-stalking kits and emergency 911 cell phones to victims. The anti-stalking kits include information and resources to assist with safety planning, gathering evidence and documenting incidences of stalking which can then be turned over to law enforcement. Stalking kits costs The Women's Center approximately $12 each, but are provided to victims free of charge. Community members who wish to support victims of stalking can donate items used in the kits, such as: disposable cameras, whistles, and latex or sterile gloves. We also greatly appreciate the donation of old, used or broken cell phones (which will be distributed to victims for use as emergency 911 phones or recycled to help fund various advocacy and educational programs), or monetary donation to offset the cost of producing anti-stalking kits. If you would like to donate any of the above items, please bring them to The Women's Center, 111 North Market Street, Bloomsburg. Please indicate that your donation is for the anti-stalking kits. 1 Baum et al., Stalking Victimization in the United States, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics 2009, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/svus.pdf   (accessed 9/29/2009). 2 Ibid. 3 Jacquelyn C. Campbell et al., "Risk Factors for Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results from a Multi=site Case Control Study," American Journal of Public Health 93 (2003):7. 4 Ibid. 5 Baum, Stalking Victimization in the United States.                                                               24 Hour Emergency Hotline: (800)544-8293 or (570)784-6631            Home | Prevention Education | Legal Representation          Support Services | Sexual Assault | Domestic Violence                Since March 20, 2002 The Women's Center, Inc. All rights reserved.