You can make a difference in the lives of stalking victims!
More than 1 million women and 370,000 men are stalked annually in the U.S.; 78% of stalking victims are female, and 1 in 12 women will be stalked in her lifetime. Two-thirds to three-quarters of stalking victims know their stalker. Consider the numbers of reported cases in Washington County (as with other forms of domestic violence, a lot of victims opt not to report, and we suspect that many of those believe they would not find the assistance they need):
- Washington County Sheriff’s Office - 34 (July 2006-June 2007)
- Beaverton Police Department - 48 (July 2006-June 2007)
- Hillsboro Police Department - 17 (January-June 2007)
Stalking has potentially severe consequences on victims’ safety, health, and well being:
- 73% of intimate partner stalkers threatened victims with physical violence. Threatening violence is a frequent warning sign of intimate partner physical assault, which can result in severe injuries and death; intimate partner stalkers’ behaviors escalate faster than with other types of stalkers.
- 81% of women who are stalked by former husbands are physically assaulted and 31% are sexually assaulted by that partner.
- 76% of female victims of murder by their intimate partner had been stalked and 67% had been physically abused by the male perpetrator.
- 26% of stalking victims lost time from work as a result of stalking and 7% did not return to work altogether. Our agency has recently assisted a female who was stalked at work by her male intimate partner and who subsequently lost her job with a large high tech company operating in Washington County because of the impact stalking had on her attendance and job performance.
- 25% of stalking victims sought psychological counseling. The prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunction, and depression is much higher among stalking victims than the general population.
Consider helping victims of stalking in your community avoid the worst! Click here to make a quick, easy and secure online donation. Thank you for your support!
Services for stalking victims in Washington County
Until February 2007, services for stalking victims in Washington County (“County”) were provided by a half-time Washington County Center for Victims Services (“CVS”) advocate, who was also charged with providing all other victim assistance (except domestic violence). Consequently, stalking victims were lumped together with victims of other crimes without particular attention to the specifics of stalking victimization and to the particular needs of stalking victims. In 12 months from June 2005 to May 2006 CVS served 42 stalking victims (on average 4 stalking victims per month).
In June 2006 CVS hired a volunteer, Linda Wedlake, to provide strictly stalking advocacy. In 6 months as a volunteer, from June to November 2006, the advocate assisted 34 stalking victims (6/month). In December 2006, the volunteer was recruited by our agency to lead the Protective Order Advocacy Program, with stalking advocacy added to the program’s roster. Since then the stalking caseload has significantly increased. From December to July 2007, the advocate assisted 74 stalking victims (9/month). In other words, the presence of a specialized stalking service in the County led to a 225% increase in service demand and delivery over 2 years compared to when stalking victims were not given specialized services. The increase in stalking caseload has been, in part, a result of heightened awareness among the County’s law enforcement agencies of stalking advocacy services being provided and the resulting referrals to our services. The need for education in the law enforcement community is crucial to improving assistance for stalking victims.
There is an unmet community need for stalking advocacy services. The more assistance stalking victims get, the more they know how to deal with their situation and the more we can prevent further stalking, intimate partner violence, and other negative effects of stalking from occurring. As a result, we are working to expand stalking advocacy services in Washington County. We estimate the project will take $25,000 to implement.
Help us launch this expansion and improve services for stalking victims in your community! Click here to make a quick, easy and secure online donation. Thank you for your support!
Project objectives and evaluation
We propose to expand stalking advocacy in Washington County. We anticipate that:
- 95% of all stalking advocacy clients will increase their knowledge of ways to stay safe in their situation and, consequently, their sense of safety, as measured by client notes and client feedback surveys; and
- 95% of stalking advocacy clients will increase their knowledge of community resources and services available to them, including how to access them, as measured by referral logs and client feedback forms.
- we will serve 22 stalking victims per month (264 per year).
Project activities and timetable
An existing protective order advocate, who is trained in stalking advocacy and who also oversees the whole program, will expand her time spent on stalking advocacy from current approximately 4 to 16 hours per week, devoting 10 hours/week to advocacy and 6 hours/week to outreach and education.
The advocacy part of the job will consist of direct client assistance. The advocate will: create safety plans with victims; prepare victims for court and accompany them to hearings; clarify for victims the relevant legal processes and terminology; advise victims on maintaining a journal log of stalking contacts; advocate and follow up for victims with law enforcement officials; and provide follow up assistance to victims via phone calls and/or personal contacts. Outreach and education will consist of providing trainings to law enforcement and justice system agencies as well as presentations to the community at large. We plan to launch this expansion on October 1, 2007 to honor the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October).
Help us improve services for stalking victims in your community! Click here to make a quick, easy and secure online donation. Thank you for your support!
Director of Development and Communications
Quick links:
Protective Order Advocacy Program
Information on stalking
Note: All national data is courtesy of the National Center for Victims of Crime. Local data is courtesy of the listed agencies.
