Stalking, the Media and Raising Public Awareness

In the UK, one in five women, and one in ten men will be stalked in their lifetime (ONS in Stalking: Findings from the crime survey for England and Wales. London. 2019. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/stalkingfindingsfromthecrimesurveyforenglandandwales). Stalking is a crime that can affect anyone and has significant impacts on victims-survivors; it has been described as ‘emotional rape’ and ‘psychological terrorism’ (Suzy Lamplugh Trust. 2020. https://www.suzylamplugh.org/. Accessed 3 January 2020.). In high-risk cases, stalking can result in murder and suicide. Through consideration of the case of Alice Ruggles, who was tragically stalked and murdered in 2016, this chapter draws on documentaries, podcasts and wider media to underline stalking behaviours that need to be more easily identified by the public. These include: coercive control and understanding stalking in the context of domestic abuse; the motivation behind behaviours (including digitally-enabled stalking) and high-risk factors. It finds that there is a need for media awareness campaigns and formal education, which targets young people, who are at a greater risk of being stalked.