Stalking - What is the Law on Stalking and What Protection is Available to Victims?

Although there is not currently a set legal definition for stalking in the UK, such offences are taken very seriously and can occur in a number of ways. There are many types of activity that are considered to be stalking offences, such as sending excessive numbers of messages to a person, following a person repeatedly or sending abusive letters. The stress that this can put on a victim's life can be significant, and a stalker is likely to find that they too are consumed by their behaviour.

The following article explains stalking more thoroughly including the protection that is offered to victims by UK law and the penalties that can be issued to offenders.

The Impact of Stalking

The emotional stress that is inflicted on a victim of stalking can be significant, and many victims say that they live in fear and intimidation. In many cases, the emotional distress is a desire of the stalker, and as such, they focus their behaviour in ways that will scare or upset their victim. One of the most distressing aspects of this type of offence is that victims often struggle to prove that they are being stalked, and this offers some power to the stalkers, making the victim feel all the more vulnerable.

Steps to Take if you are Stalked

There are a number of steps that victims of a stalker should take in order to protect themselves and minimise the impact of the undesirable attention that they receive. This includes:

• Contact the local police immediately to alert them of your concerns
• Maintain a log or diary of all activity and behaviour relating to the stalker
• Tell as many people that you trust in order to enhance your protection and wellbeing
• Ensure that your home is secure 
• Avoid being on your own and attempt to revise daily routines so as to ensure that the stalker will have difficulty in knowing your movements.

Contacting the Local Police Force

It can often feel like a daunting experience to contact the police to report concerns of being stalked. This is particularly the case for people who do not have evidence or proof of their allegations and many fear that the police will disregard such a case. This is wrong, and the police should take any report of stalking or the concerns of a person for their own safety very seriously.

The local police will offer advice and support to any victim and provide information regarding self-protection and the protection that can be offered by the police.

Keeping a Diary

Keeping a diary of all events and behaviours in relation to stalking will serve as proof and strengthen your case against the offender. Be sure to ensure that all entries into the diary are detailed, including dates, times, the content of messages and locations of activity. Any written or recorded messages or communications should be saved and presented to the police as proof that you are being stalked.

Alerting Those Close to You

Any person who believes that they are the victim of a stalker is advised to inform those close to them of their worries. By ensuring that close friends, colleagues and family members are aware of the unwelcome behaviour of the stalker, there will be more people to help keep an eye out and checking on your welfare and safety. These people will help to ensure that you are not on your own and will serve to corroborate events where possible.

Check the Security of Your Home

It is important that you maintain and ensure reliable security throughout your home to maximise your safety, in addition to giving you the extra peace of mind in knowing that your home is secure. This means ensuring that all locks are working and secure, having security lighting around your home and making sure that all keys to the property are kept safe and accounted for.

Try Not to Be Alone and Revise Daily Routines

Victims of stalking will usually feel safer in the company of those that they trust, and there is less likely to be a threat to them if others are close by. In order to ensure that it is difficult for a stalker to find and contact you, revising daily routines is advisable. This can be done by using different transport methods, journey routes and contact methods, instead of using the same daily routines each day.

Protection offered by the Law for victims of stalking

Legislation is in place that offers protection to a person who is being stalked. The most common piece is the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The legislation that is set out in this Act can be used in both civil and criminal courts, and convictions are likely to be sought through this act by the police following an allegation of stalking.

The Protection from Harassment Act sets out the unlawful behaviour of a stalker. This makes it illegal for an individual to adopt behaviours or conduct which is tantamount to harassment of another person. The act also states that any such behaviours will be unlawful if the defendant knows or can be reasonably expected to know that such behaviour amounts to harassment of another person.

The law stipulates that the behaviour should be recognisable as unacceptable by a 'reasonable person'. The legislation sets out that a person should know that their course of conduct and activity amounts to harassment of the victim if a reasonable person who possessed the same information would interpret the behaviours as such.

What type of activity amounts to harassment?

There are a vast number of actions and behaviours that would be considered as amounting to harassment. With regards to stalking, the following behaviour or undertakings would usually be considered as harassment:

• Threatening letters 
• Excessive telephone calls
• Repetitive or abusive communications including online messages and emails
• Following someone continually
• Large volumes of abusive text messages