VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Kasey Skalicky is the director of the Abused Persons Outreach Center in Valley City. Known as APOC the entity serves Barnes County and the surrounding area.
Skalicky said last year in our community, APOC provided services to 52 victims of domestic violence who were being actively stalked by their abuser.
She said, unfortunately, society and the criminal justice system have sometimes dismissed stalking cases, particularly during their initial stages when the opportunity to prevent escalation is greatest. Too often the unwanted invitations, calls, texts, gifts, and intrusions from stalkers are seen as harmless pleas for attention, to be tolerated or ignored by the victim, rather than being viewed as the serious crimes they are and can become. Too often victims are left to fend for themselves, and this can have tragic results.
Skalicky said stalking is a crime and it puts victims, their loved ones, friends and co-workers at risk. Often stalkers know no boundaries in their intimidating and sometimes violent behavior. We should all do what we can to provide support to stalking victims, and work together to promote safety in our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces.
She said the true risk that stalkers pose to individuals and their communities needs to be better understood and more fully appreciated. Considering that 1 in 20 women and 1 in 40 men will become targets of stalking during their lives, we all will either become a victim or know someone who will.
Defined in North Dakota law, “Stalk” means to: 1. engage in an intentional course of conduct directed at a specific person which frightens, intimidates, or harasses that person and which serves no legitimate purpose. The course of conduct may be directed toward that person or a member of that person’s immediate family and must cause a reasonable person to experience fear, intimidation, or harassment; or 2. The unauthorized tracking of the person’s movements or location through the use of a global positioning system or other electronic means that would cause a reasonable person to be frightened, intimidated, or harassed and which serves no legitimate purpose.
Crimes of stalking can have a devastating, and often deadly impact on their victims. 76% of women murdered by an intimate partner were stalked first. 54% of female victims had reported stalking to the police before they were killed. Victims are impacted psychologically, physically and financially, and suffer higher rates of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and social dysfunction than the general population.
Many victims of domestic violence experience stalking by their abuser both during the relationship and after the relationship has ended. Domestic violence is about one person having control over another person, and abusers use stalking to intimidate and control their victims.
Skalikcy said the first step to solving any problem is to recognize it as a problem. She encourages everyone to make an effort to find out more about the crime of stalking, so you are better prepared should you or a loved one ever become a target of a stalker.
More resources about stalking are available online at www.apocnd.org If you think you may be a victim of stalking, contact law enforcement or APOC 701-845-0072 for help.