NewsUS President Joe Biden has proclaimed January 2022 to be National Stalking Awareness Month and announced that a task force will be established to address digital stalking.
The Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC) defines stalking as “a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.” The White House highlighted that one in six women and one in 17 men will experience stalking in their lifetimes.
The SPARC estimates that between six and seven-and-a-half million individuals fall victim to stalking in the US every year.
The White House noted in a statement Thursday that digital stalking is a particular concern given its prevalence of late, with women, girls and members of LGBTQIA+ community being particularly vulnerable. Biden announced that his administration will set up a task force to develop a strategy to reduce gendered violence related to online stalking and harassment.
The majority of stalking perpetrators are persons who are known to their victims. Stalking causes a range of harms to victims’ safety and wellbeing. There is a financial burden experienced by victims of stalking who try to protect themselves, as well as adverse consequences on employment. Beyond this, victims of stalking “suffer physical, psychological, and social harms, such as higher than average rates of depression, anxiety, and insomnia.”
“Stalking operates in the shadows and is fueled by silence and inaction,” Biden commented. “As we begin this new year, let us commit to shining a brighter light on this insidious crime, to broadening our support for those affected, and to ensuring that all people can live in a world free from violence and fear.”
US President Barack Obama was the first US President to proclaim a National Stalking Awareness Month in January 2011.
