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CLT Magazine | SPRING 2022
STALKING AWARENESS MARISSA F. COHEN
~Founder of the Healing From Emotional Abuse Philosophy www.MarissaFayeCohen.com
J
anuary is Stalking Awareness Month, so I thought it would be fitting to address it, as the number of stalking reports have skyrocketed since 2017. Whether the actual amount of stalking has increased, or TV shows such as YOU brought attention to the dangers of stalking, it is increasingly important that we acknowledge it. On college campuses between 2017 and 2019, stalking reports have increased an average of 65% in the United States.
in detail about the three times I was aggressively stalked, and figured it was because stalking isn’t as dangerous as domestic violence or sexual assault. In fact, it’s rarely given the same attention as rape or assault by law enforcement or the legal system — people will generally overlook it until something physical happens. However, stalking is extremely psychologically damaging. You don’t feel safe anywhere. Even if they never touched you, you feel unsafe in all areas of your life.
The term stalking, as defined by the Department of Justice, means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety, or the safety of others; or causing the target to suffer substantial emotional distress.
Have you ever experienced anything like that? That subtle feeling that you’re being watched? The tension in the pit of your stomach that something isn’t right? That unconscious need to peer over your shoulder consistently, but you don’t know what you’re looking for? That’s the residue of the psychological impact that stalking has on a person.
Basically, stalking is behaving in a way that makes a target feel unsafe in their surroundings or environment. Stalking occurs when someone repeatedly harasses or threatens a target, causing fear or safety concerns. According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), about 1 in 6 women and 1 in 17 men have experienced stalking in their lifetimes, as reported by the CDC. I was chatting with a colleague of mine about harassment and stalking, and how common it is. As I began to speak about experiences I have had with stalking in college and in workplaces, I had this overwhelming sensation that these are not experiences I have discussed much. I rarely speak
When I visit my alma mater, Rowan University, I like to have lunch at the bar in town. I love the food there, but I find myself having this compulsive need to always be looking at the doors or the entrances to the room I’m sitting in. I can’t have anyone sitting behind me or I peer over my shoulder a million times. That goes back to a boy I dated in college. After we broke up, he would find out where I was, using his fraternity brothers and other Greek Life resources on campus, and then show up. He would have his brothers stand in every corner, or by every exit of this bar, watching me and monitoring everything I did, and who I was there with. He would position himself
