Stalking Awareness Resolution Approved by Senate

On January 26, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 24) designating January 2007 as “National Stalking Awareness Month.”

Sponsored by Sens. Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Susan Collins (R-ME), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

• stalking is a crime that cuts across race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, and economic status;
• eighty-one percent of women who are stalked by an intimate partner also are physically assaulted by that partner, and 76 percent of women who are killed by an intimate partner were also stalked by that intimate partner;
• stalking victims are forced to take drastic measures to protect themselves, such as relocating, changing their addresses, changing their identities, changing jobs, and obtaining protection orders; and
• there is a need to enhance the criminal justice system’s response to stalking, including through aggressive investigation and prosecution.