Stalking and Harassment

What is harassment?

Harassment is a course of unwanted, repeated conduct that causes a person to feel distressed, alarmed, humiliated or threatened. It is behaviour that a reasonable person would see as detrimental to a victim. 

Common examples of harassment include: 

1) Relentless unwanted communication: Sending numerous messages, emails, letters, presents, and telephone calls despite being asked to stop. 

2) Target abuse or bullying: Repeatedly insulting, threatening, or mocking a person. This can take place anywhere including online, in the workplace, at school, or in person. 

3) Loitering or uninvited presence: Hanging around near someone's home, workplace or social places the victim is known to attend which makes the victim feel uncomfortable. 

4) Property interference: Damaging someone's belongings or repeatedly leaving unwanted items on their doorstep. 

What is stalking?

Stalking is a more severed for of harassment. It goes beyond generic nuisance behvaiour and is characterized by a deeply ingrained pattern of fixation and obsession. Stalkers often become consumed by their victim and their behaviour can often escalate over time. 

Common examples include:

1) Following and spying: The perpetrator will shadow the victim as they go about their day, watching the victim from a distance, or spying on the person or their home. 

2) Accumulating personal data: Searching public records, bins, social media etc, to gather information about a victim, their friends or family. 

3) Unexpected arrivals: The perpetrator will turn up at a victim's home, workplace, gym or holiday destination uninvited. 

4) Identity manipulation: The perpetrator will send gifts or order goods in the victims name or will pretend to be them online. 

Cyberstalking

As technology has advanceed, perpetrators have found sophisticated and invasive ways of tracking and tormenting their victims. 

Common examples include: 

1) Location tracking: Attacking physical tracking devices (like AirTags) into a victim's belongings or hacking their phone to access live location data. 

2) Spyware or stalkerware: Installing secretly software onto the victim's laptop or phone to read messages, view web history, access the camera etc. 

3) Social Media Monitoring: Creating fake profiles to bypass blocks or relentlessly commenting on a victim on social media or on their posts.

The Law

Harassment and Stalking are serious criminal offences. Over recent years, the police and CPS have signficantly increased the prosecution of offenders which can result in serious sentences, including custodial sentences, along with long-term protective orders for victims. If criminal routes are delayed or fail, you can pursue options in the Family or County Courts, including Non-Molestation Orders, Injunctions, and in some cases damages for the anxiety and distress you have experienced. 

what we can do

We can assist you with; 

1) Non-Molestation Orders

2) Injunctions

3) Representations to the Police

4) Claims for damages