Harassment is when someone behaves in a way which offends you or makes you feel distressed or intimidated.  This could be abusive comments or jokes or insult gestures.  If you have experienced this kind of behaviour, you may be able to do something about it.  harassment can be carried out in person or via social media.

What is Stalking?

Stalking involves a person becoming fixated or obsessed with another.

Stalking is a pattern of persistent and unwanted attention that makes you feel pestered, scared, anxious or harassed.  For example:

• Regularly giving you unwanted gifts
• Making unwanted communication
• Repeatedly following you or spying on you
• Making threats

Reporting Stalking or Harassment

We can assure you that most police officers want to help, but they sometimes lack the tools and training needed. They may not understand how frightening it is when it is happening to you. Many might say that unless there is physical violence it is not so serious, but we know that this is not the case.

Please review our 6 golden rules:

Report it as early as possible to the police and tell others what is happening

Ensure you get good practical advice – contact the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300 or call Paladin on 0203 866 4107

Proactive evidence collection – keep all the evidence

Overview of what is happening – keep a diary

Risk Checklist – complete the S-DASH 11 screening questions

Trust your instinct

Effective Gathering of Evidence

If you intend to go to the police, you’ll need to provide evidence.

• Make sure you keep a diary of every incident, tape any phone calls – Stalking and Harassment Incident Diary
• Template
• Take screenshots of any emails and save copies of them.
• If you can, take photographs or video your stalker

The Law

Stalking is now a crime.

Two new offences of stalking were introduced on November 25th 2012. This was following a hugely successful Stalking Law Reform Campaign in Parliament spearheaded by Laura Richards and Harry Fletcher.

Under the Protection from Harassment Act (PHA) 1997, (amended by Protection of Freedoms Act 2012) it is necessary to prove a course of conduct amounting to harassment (Section 2) or stalking (Section 2a) or fear of violence (Section 4) or stalking (Section 4a) which causes serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on the victim’s usual day-to-day activities’ which the perpetrator knows or ought to know amounts to harassment or stalking or fear of violence.

A course of conduct is conduct that occurs on at least two occasions. Most stalking cases should be arrested and charged at Section 4a. It also has a power of entry to perpetrator address. Section 2a allows for a warrant to search the perpetrator’s home address

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