For Stalking Awareness Month, The Movement Peer Educators have offered educational workshops throughout the month of January in each of the four Campus Community Centers.

The Movement is a group of trained interpersonal violence prevention peer educators based in the Women’s Center. Comprised of NC State students, The Movement facilitates numerous free workshops for the campus community on topics such as stalking, healthy relationships, sexual violence, bystander behavior, consent and supporting survivors.

Local news channel ABC11 stopped by last week to speak to students facilitating and participating in a Stalking Awareness workshop hosted in the African American Cultural Center. Watch the video.

What is Stalking?

The U.S. Department of Justice defines stalking as “a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact or any other course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.”

But as RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) points out on their website, stalking is about power and control, similar to other crimes of sexual and interpersonal violence.

Stalking can include:

• threats against a person or the person’s family or friends;
• unwanted communication, such as repeated calls, emails, texts or gifts;
• unwanted physical proximity, such as following, waiting or watching someone;
• any other behaviors that track, harass or threaten someone.

Perpetrators may use technology to stalk victims; this type of stalking is often referred to as “cyberstalking” and, in addition to the above, can include spamming someone’s email or social media accounts, posting personal or threatening information on the internet, using video to spy on someone, using GPS or other software to digitally track someone without their consent; or tracking someone’s computer activity.

Common reactions to being stalked are anxiety, fear, nervousness, isolation, stress or even depression.

While it is difficult to know the exact numbers of stalking cases, it is clear that these unacceptable behaviors are not as uncommon as we would like. Education and awareness of stalking behaviors increases the likelihood that students experiencing stalking will come forward to seek supports on and off campus.

The Women’s Center offers services for survivors of interpersonal violence, including relationship violence, sexual assault and stalking by providing trained advocates who are available to help any student in need, regardless of gender identity, gender expresion or sexual orientation.

Services include accompaniment to court, student conduct hearings, law enforcement agencies, and medical services; crisis intervention and emotional support; academic and housing accommodations; resource navigation and referrals; financial support; reporting options; and safety planning.

Students can access services by coming to the Women’s Center (Talley Student Union, Suite 5210) from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, by calling the 24/7 Sexual Assault Helpline at 919.515.4444 or by email at ncsuadvocate@ncsu.edu.

Upcoming Opportunities

The Movement’s final workshops for Stalking Awareness Month include Bystander Intervention 101 on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 from 7 – 8 p.m. in the Women’s Center, Talley Student Union, Suite 5210 and the final Stalking Awareness 101 workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020 from 6 – 7 p.m. in Multicultural Student Affairs, Talley Student Union, Suite 4261.

Elizabeth Snively writes for the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity.