What to do if you're being stalked as victims to be offered new protection
Stalking victims are to be given better protection including the right to know the identity of their online stalkers, the Government has revealed.
The changes come following a warning earlier this year from a group of watchdogs who said police are failing to protect stalking victims in too many cases. Around one in seven people aged 16 and over in England and Wales have been a victim of stalking at least once, figures suggest.
New "right to know" statutory guidance is aimed at ensuring police can reassure those being stalked that they will be told the identity of an online stalker at the earliest opportunity.
The guidance was inspired by the experience of broadcaster, activist and former Coronation Street actress Nicola Thorp, who was stalked online but told by police they could not disclose the offender’s identity, even after he was arrested.
Stalking Protection Orders, which can ban stalkers from going within a certain distance of their victims, or contacting them, will also be made more widely available, the Home Office said. This will stop offenders from contacting their victims from prison, the department said.
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips recalled her own experiences of being stalked, including by someone from prison, and said she had come across "quite a lot of cases" where people behind bars were able to stalk ex-partners online.
Ms Phillips told LBC that when her stalker was convicted, she thought “that’s that done”, but they had then been able to contact her from jail. "I had somebody who was in prison for harming – well, seeking to harm me – and then was able to write letters to me, contact me from prison."
She said the new measures announced on Tuesday "are just the first step and we will do more to crack down on this sickening crime which no-one deserves to experience".
Stalking: The facts
Victim Support says stalking can happen to anyone and can be described as persistent and unwanted attention that makes you feel pestered and harassed.
"A stalker can be a former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend, an acquaintance, work colleague, or a stranger," the website reads. "It [stalking] includes behaviour that happens two or more times, directed at or towards you by another person, which causes you to feel alarmed or distressed or to fear violence might be used against you."
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Crime Survey for England and Wales 2024, police recorded 620,861 stalking and harassment offences in the year ending June 2024. This was an 11% decrease compared with the previous year (696,505 offences). It's estimated that only 0.1% of cases lead to a conviction.
How can you tell if you are being stalked?
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust defines stalking as: a pattern of fixated and obsessive behaviour which is intrusive and causes fear of violence or engenders alarm and distress in the victim.
"Stalking behaviour is unwanted and repetitive, and it is almost always carried out (or orchestrated by) one individual towards another individual," explains Violet Alvarez, from the policy and campaigns team at the charity.
Alvarez says stalking is a crime of psychological terror that impacts on all aspects of a victim’s life, often in ways that are long-lasting and traumatic.
"Research conducted by Sussex Stalking Support and the National Centre for Cyberstalking Research at the University of Bedfordshire in conjunction with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, indicates that around one in five victims of stalking experience symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the aftermath of being stalked," she explains. "As many as 91% reported that they suffered from mental health problems following the experience of being stalked, while 78% met the clinical criteria for PTSD."
Alvarez says stalking can have far-reaching consequences. "It is very common for victims to move home, change their careers, lose their relationships and social lives, have significant financial impacts from being stalked, and to live with being anxious and hypervigilant for years after the stalking has ended," she explains.
What to do if you think you are being stalked
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has some overall tips and advice for those who suspect they are being stalked.
Do not engage with your stalker in any way.
Talk to family, friends, neighbours, colleagues or your manager about the harassment if you feel comfortable doing so. They may be able to help by collecting further evidence on your behalf or by putting protective measures in place.
Be aware of how much of your personal information is in the public domain and take steps to protect your data.
Above everything, trust your instincts.
What to do if you are being physically stalked
Consider carrying a personal alarm.
Vary your daily routine and take different routes to and from work.
Know where the nearest safe location is, for instance a police station. But, if there isn't one nearby, you could use a 24-hour supermarket with security guards and CCTV.
Talk to the police about using CCTV and/or installing a panic button at your home.
Consider installing an alarm system.
Ensure all your doors and windows are locked before you leave home or go to sleep.
What to do if you're experiencing cyber stalking
Change your passwords frequently and don't use the same password for everything.
Get your computer checked for malware and key logging software.
Limit the amount of information you share about yourself on social networking sites and check your privacy settings to ensure you are not giving away more information about yourself than you intend to.
Keep your anti-virus software up-to-date.
Report any stalking activity on websites to the administrators. If they won't act, contact the web hosting company.
"We regard both online and offline behaviours as forms of stalking, whether that be unwanted communication via social media, following or vexatious complaints," Alvarez adds. "If you are experiencing cyberstalking we advise you to document all communication from the stalker and get specialist help if you think your devices have been hacked."
If you’re in immediate danger, call 999.
If you are a victim of stalking you can get specialist support from the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300 or visit www.suzylamplugh.org.
Read more about stalking:
How the police deal with stalking is set to change: here's the update (Cosmopolitan, 4-min read)
Woman says she experienced Baby Reindeer-style stalking for 13 years (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
'Baby Reindeer resonated with me because my stalker ruined my life for 10 years' (Yahoo Life UK, 11-min read)
Additional reporting PA.
