There's still time to participate in Stalking Awareness Month

There's still time to participate in Stalking Awareness Month. How are you going to help?

It's not unusual for someone to underestimate the scope of the problem. Stalking stats from the National Center for Victims of Crime tell us:

• Among people who are over 18 an estimated 3.4 million people are stalked annually.
• Weapons are used to threaten or harm victims in 1:5 cases.
• 89% of femicide victims who had been physically assaulted had also been stalked in the 12 months before their murder.

Stalkers are more than weirdos hiding in the bushes tracking your every move. Many stalkers are known to the victims before the stalking began. Stalkers can be quite intelligent and tech savvy. Cyber stalking is being used more frequently to torment survivors.

Since January has been designated as National Stalking Awareness Month there isn't any better time to raise awareness. Tools on the National Center for Victims of Crime website make it easy to get the word out like this article does. They have suggested daily messages to go out on Twitter or on our Facebook status. Stats and facts give us bloggers a starting point to begin the discussion.

Beginning a blogosphere buzz is what bloggers do. Is there any better time than National Stalking Awareness Month to do that?