College Recognizes January As National Stalking Awareness Month
(Press Release 01-12-07)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, and Eastern Oklahoma State College’s Campus Violence Prevention Project is aiming to increase awareness about a crime that affects nearly 1.4 million Americans each year.

Stalking is typically defined as a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes a reasonable person to feel fear.

“Stalking is a crime,” says Levenia Carey, Campus Violence Prevention Project Counselor, adding that all 50 states have passed laws making it illegal to engage in stalking.

While stalking is a very common crime, it often goes unreported and public awareness about the crime is very low. Motivated by the death of Peggy Klinke, a stalking victim who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend after seeking law enforcement intervention, National Stalking Awareness Month aims to increase the American public’s awareness of the crime.

One in 12 women and one in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime, for an average duration of nearly two years. Even more alarming, 76 percent of female homicide victims were also stalked prior to their death.

Eastern’s Campus Violence Prevention Project is encouraging the surrounding counties and communities to promote awareness and public education during this month and throughout the year. Eastern will have a variety of events and activities for students, faculty and staff throughout the month.  For more information contact Carey at 918-465-1757.

“We want everyone to become more knowledgeable to reduce being victimized,” Carey says. “We have stalking kits available that can aid police in making arrests.”

Stalking facts from the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Seventy-seven percent of female and 64 percent of male victims know their stalker.
• Eighty-seven percent of stalkers are men.
• Fifty-nine percent of female victims and 30 percent of male victims are stalked by an intimate partner.
• Eighty-one percent of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner.
• Thirty-one percent of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also sexually assaulted by that partner.
• Seventy-three percent of intimate partner stalkers verbally threatened the victims with physical violence, and almost 46 percent of victims experienced one or more violent incidents by the stalker.
• The average duration of stalking is 1.8 years.
• When stalking involves intimate partners, the average duration of stalking increases to 2.2 years.
• Sixty-one percent of stalkers made unwanted phone calls; 33 percent sent or left unwanted letters or items; 29 percent vandalized property; and 9 percent killed or threatened to kill a family pet.