Protection against Stalking works jointly with relevant agencies to increase awareness of Stalking and Harassment to ensure victims receive all the protection and help they need to rebuild their lives and live free of fear.

OUR VISION
The vision of Protection Against Stalking is to change society’s perception of stalking, to improve the safety for all victims of stalking and harassment and for perpetrators to be held to account by the Criminal Justice System.

NEWS

Campaigners Welcome Independent Inquiry into Stalking Law Reform

Protection Against Stalking (PAS) and Napo the Probation and Family Court Trade Union welcome and endorse the report of the Independent Inquiry into Stalking Law Reform which was launched today, Tuesday 7th February 2012, in the House of Lords.

PAS and Napo acted as advisors to the inquiry which was established in June 2011 with all Party support. Central to the inquiry was evidence from victims who all felt badly let down by the criminal justice system.

The report has concluded that there is an urgent need for an offence of stalking to be introduced into the law in England and Wales similar to that enacted in Scotland in December 2010. In addition the report calls for fundamental changes to training, the establishment of a Victims’ Advocacy Scheme and for the treatment of offenders.

Figures from Scotland show that during 2011 435 stalking incidents were reported to police and of those 321 progressed to the Procurator Fiscal. Prior to the introduction of stalking laws in Scotland individuals suspected of stalking were charged under Breach of the Peace legislation. In the decade from 2000 just 70 individuals were charged.

Laura Richards of PAS said: “The Independent Parliamentary Inquiry has placed the voices of all those who have been affected by this insidious and life destroying behaviour at the centre of their Inquiry, and for that, we are thankful. Stalking is not a new phenomenon – cases are more common than people think and more dangerous than is currently appreciated - and it is only set to increase, particularly given technological advances. It is time we recognised stalking as a crime, along with ensuring professionals are adequately trained, that specialist advocates are available to support victims and that perpetrators are put before the courts and treated for it. Only when these measures are in place will early identification and intervention occur resulting in lives being saved.”

Harry Fletcher, Assistant General Secretary of Napo, said “Scotland has named stalking as a crime. The figures from 2011 reveal a massive rise in the number of prosecutions. If police, probation and prison officers in England and Wales knew that an individual before them had been convicted of stalking they would take into account that conduct and take measures to prevent the stalking behaviour continuing. The report is very timely and is published as the Home Office consultation concluded on 5 February.”

For further information please contact:
Laura Richards 07775 821 416
or Harry Fletcher 020 7223 4887 or 07860 540 145

Independent Parliamentary Inquiry into Stalking Law Reform February 2012

Main Findings and Recommendations

Access the full Parliamentary Inquiry Report here.

Justice at last for Claire as stalker is jailed for 2 years

“You have plagued her life and you have literally ruined it. You have mentally terrorised her over many, many years and her life will never be and can never be the same. Your actions have not just affected her - they have impacted on her family, her children and her friends, so widespread and calculating has your behaviour been”.

Judge Ian Darling

Follow this link to read the full story

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9045510/Stalker-who-Googled...

Claire Waxman to receive £3,500 in damages after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped a charge against her stalker

Here is a link to the judgement on Claire's case-
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/62967/stalking-victim-receives-compens...

Twitter

You can now support us by following our updates on Twitter.

Victim's Voice on line survey

Protection Against Stalking are running the Victim's Voice on line survey for victim's of stalking. If you are or have been a victim we want to hear about your experiences of stalking and of the criminal justice system. Please play a part and forward this as appropriate to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WK2TGVJ

READ MORE

Home Office Consultation on stalking

The government has launched a Consultation on Stalking asking for views on how they can protect victims of stalking more effectively. The consultation incorporates a number of issues, including current legislation, the effect of police information notices, search powers, the work of existing organisations and alternative measures to tackle stalking.
The consultation seeks the views of key partners and directly affected parties, including the police, practitioners, other government departments, organisations with a direct interest in preventing stalking and members of the general public.
Opening date: 14 Nov 2011 Closing date: 05 Feb 2011 Full story here.

Our parliamentary campaign is in the News

Follow the national newspapers for further details of our parliamentary campaign and the new Home Office Consultation on Stalking here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/stalking--in-person-or-on...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/nov/13/stalking-not-taken-seriously?m...

Diana Lamplugh OBE

We are greatly saddened by the death of Diana Lamplugh OBE, aged 75. After the disappearance of her daughter Suzy in 1986, Diana and her husband, Paul, founded The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a national charity for personal safety.

Paul Infield, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, said that Diana was one of those people who contributed energy, focus and commitment to everything she did. With her husband, Paul, she was tireless in establishing the concept of and discipline for personal safety, a positive life skill for people of all ages and occupations.

A charismatic speaker and tireless campaigner, Diana led the Trust in successfully campaigning for changes in law and procedures regarding safer working practices; safe travel in minicabs; safer travel on trains and safer stations; safer car parks; the treatment and sentencing of sex offenders; helping vulnerable young people and victims of crime; protection from stalking and harassment, treatment of young offenders and many others.

The Stalking Law Reform Parliamentary Project 2011-2012

Napo (the Trade Union and Professional Association for Family Court and Probation Staff ) and PAS has established a unique backbenchers parliamentary inquiry into the case for stalking law reform and improvements to training and victim support. Follow our regular Stalking Law Reform Campaign bulletins here

New Funding for PAS

We are very grateful to The JRSST Charitable Trust for their generous support for our current Stalking Law Reform Parliamentary Campaign and our ‘Out of the Shadows’ Road Show programme.

PAS have running a survey aimed at bringing stalking victims ‘Out of the Shadows’ and find out about their experiences with the Criminal Justice System. All too often we hear from victims who have been let down and rendered vulnerable by the very system that should both support and protect them. Read more here

You can access your personal copy of the PAS ‘Look Forward - Not Behind’ information leaflet

Cyber Stalking

Dr Emma Short from the University of Bedfordshire is presently undertaking research into cyber-stalking, commissioned by Network for Surviving Stalking. More details here.

Officers urged to 'trust stalking victims'

Police officers are urged to 'trust stalking victims' and need to have a better understanding of the risks stalkers can pose to their victims, ACPO's lead for stalking and harassment has urged. For full story click here.

Harriet Cullis - A Memorial

Harriet Cullis was a remarkable woman who played a major part in the creation of PAS in 2008 and was a strong influence over the direction our charity up to her untimely death. We offer our sincere condolences to her family and thank them for contributing so generously towards PAS in her memory.

Stalking Guidelines for Prosecutors

Protection Against Stalking welcomes and supports the launch and publication of The Stalking Guidelines for Prosecutors. (Read more)

The National Stalking Helpline enters its second year

The National Stalking Helpline, operated in collaboration with Protection Against Stalking, The Suzy Lamplugh Trust and Network for Surviving Stalking, celebrated its first birthday in the late spring. It has been an eventful first year, with the help line receiving nearly 1500 calls and emails from victims of stalking. Over 70% of callers knew their stalkers from previous intimate relationships, as work colleagues, acquaintances or neighbours. More than 70% of victims were women and nearly half of all victims had not reported their situation to the police. Phone calls, text messages and emails, with ‘following’ and the ‘harassment of friends’ by far the most numerous of incidents of stalking, with home or workplace incidents also rating highly.

The helpline enables victims and their families to speak in confidence about their experiences and seek professional help. The National Stalking Helpline is open during weekdays between 0930 - 1600hrs except for Wednesday, when it will operate between 1300 - 1600hrs. Call the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300 or e-mail advice@stalkinghelpline.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

The effects that stalking has on people NEED TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.....I experience this daily from a neighbour and its not pleasant believe me.
People belive the perpertrator over the survivor and the abuse sprials out of control. the nit picking...the lies...the following in the town centre...the stealing of post...the standing and staring at you from the window and you come and go about your business...and get reported to the authoritys for doing your daily business...the mimicking of your movements...the anger thrown at you when you have visitors...stuff thrown outside your door....the name calling....my experiences of living above a stalker is relentless.
************************************************************************
If a person constantly instills a feeling of inadequacy in you, that usually means that person is inadequate himself. Take positive criticism, but don't let negative judgments beat you. ~ Esmael Darman

No Offence! Conference on Restorative Justice, Gang, Gun & Knife Crime

Following the success of the first No Offence! Conference we are pleased to announce our next event focusing on Restorative Justice, Gang, Gun and Knife Crime. The conference is scheduled for...

admin 01-12-2011

Photographic Workshops and Exhibition

Free photographic workshops during half-term week
Looking for activities during half-term week? Need some advice on what makes a really great landscape or photograph? There are three free photographic workshops led by professional photographers Mike Curry and Ian Cook, on afternoon walks along the Green Chain route:

* during half-term week February 14th 3-5pm: Charlton House and Maryon Wilson Park
* February 15th 2-4pm: Thames Barrier & Thames views
* February 21st 3-5pm: Thames Barrier & Thames sunset views.
Please see the website or contact Verve Arts for more details and to book. Under-17s with adults welcome.

A call for entries to the 2012 exhibition
Do you enjoy walking and photography? Verve Arts invites submissions of photographs taken along the Green Chain route which runs through the borough of Greenwich. Thirty selected photographs will be exhibited at Elixir Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Woolwich, from May – August 2012.

Who can enter?
Anyone of any age can submit photographs but they must be taken along the Green Chain route within the borough of Greenwich. Entrants can photograph views, buildings, details of trees, plants, wildflowers, other people enjoying amenities along the route. ‘Green Chain Captured’ promotes walking and photography for fun, relaxation and a healthy lifestyle whilst creating awareness of the facilities and transport links on the route.

How to send in entries
You can submit up to five photographs. These should be standard size prints (6” x 4” approx) - not sent in as digital files. There is no need to send enlargements.
These should be sent to:
‘Green Chain Captured’, Verve Arts, South London Healthcare NHS Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Stadium Road, Woolwich, London SE18 4QH
by 19th March 2012 together with a completed entry form downloaded from
http://www.slh.nhs.uk/verve-arts/elixir-gallery-queen-elizabeth
or available from the Verve Arts Manager, call 020 8836 5831 or email jeanie.mcnulty@nhs.net
Successful entrants will be asked to supply their selected photos by 5th April.

Whether your photograph is selected or not, you may also be able to submit photographs to the Green Chain website – visit http://www.greenchain.com and follow links to find out how to do this. Route maps are also available to download.

Verve Arts is the arts programme for hospitals within the South London Healthcare NHS Trust. This will be the second ‘Green Chain Captured’ exhibition, with Green Chain as a project partner.
Jeanie McNulty
Verve Arts Manager
South London Healthcare NHS Trust
Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Ranken House
Stadium Road
Woolwich
London SE18 4QH
Tel: 020 8836 5831, Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays.
Website: www.slh.nhs.uk/verve-arts

2 February 2012 Last updated at 14:25

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Birchall Trust charity for sexual abuse victims opens in Lancaster

A counselling service for victims of sexual abuse has expanded from Cumbria into north Lancashire.

The Birchall Trust, based in Barrow and Kendal, now offers support to people in Lancaster after receiving funding of £200,000 from the Ministry of Justice.

The charity will use the money to offer counselling sessions, including play and art therapy, for children and young people.

Lancashire Police has worked closely with the charity in recent years.

Det Insp Jo Dent said: "Victims of rape or sexual abuse are given the full support of our officers after a crime has been reported to us.

"This level of support continues if an offender is caught and the case then goes through the court process.

"The Birchall Trust is able to add an additional level of support, through their counselling and therapy sessions, to those who are referred to them."

A spokesperson for the Birchall Trust said: "We are so pleased to be able to provide services in north Lancashire.

"Our specialist counselling service supports survivors of rape and sexual abuse, whether the abuse is recent or historic and whatever their age.

"Often it is difficult to put the abuse they have suffered into words; play and art can help with communication, especially for young children, so being able to refurbish and now use this room in Lancaster is great."

Jim’s drinking was clearly out of control…he had been up for over 24 hours, and the beer bottles lying around numbered over thirty. Yet he refuses to see a counselor, saying that he “doesn’t have a problem and doesn’t need help!”

Jane’s mother, Sally, age 76, can barely make her way through her own house because of the clutter and items she has accumulated. Jane is concerned for her mother’s safety, but Sally will not allow Jane to clean the house or throw anything away. The more Jane insists, the stronger Sally’s resistance. It’s gotten to the point where Sally has told Jane she is not welcome to visit anymore, and Jane cannot figure out how to help.

Josh has not been feeling like himself for a long time now: he lost his job six months ago and his girlfriend of two years broke up with him a few weeks ago. He’s finding himself sleeping through the day and staying up all night, gaming online and looking at porn. He knows he should be job hunting, but really, he doesn’t care anymore. He’s lost 20 pounds, and when he does see his friends, they are shocked at the changes. But when they ask questions, Josh blows them off and says, “I’m fine.”

All three of these people are great candidates for therapy, but none of them will go. Why?

People who are resistant to mental health treatment share many of the same characteristics. It is frustrating for family and friends to see someone they care about suffer, but unless these four areas are addressed, therapy will be ineffective:

1. Fear. This is the biggest reason people avoid addressing most problems in life, whether it’s due to a mental illness or not. Not knowing what the outcome of change is can be incredibly frightening. The status quo we can deal with; we may not like it, but it’s familiar. Some people are afraid of what examining the truth will reveal about themselves, their relationships, and their lives. Some are fearful of who they will be if they do not have an addiction or an illness because that means other people will expect more of them. And some just don’t believe they are strong enough to handle whatever may come of being in therapy.
2. Hopelessness. This goes hand-in-hand with fear. Not only can therapy be scary, if your partner has no hope anything will change, then why enter a scary situation? Many clients enter therapy with the hope that the therapist has a magic wand that can be waved and will resolve the issues at hand. No such luck. Your partner needs to have at least a little optimism and motivation for any kind of treatment to be effective.
3. Poor insight. If your partner, like Jim in the first vignette, “doesn’t have a problem,” no amount of sitting in a therapist’s office is going to change that. Your partner has to reach a place of accepting that there is something wrong and also have the willingness to try to do something about it. No amount of nagging from you–or anyone else–will makes things different.
4. Differences in opinion about the best solution. Therapy is not for everyone. Maybe your partner can resolve their depression through exercise, good diet, and appropriate amounts of sleep. Maybe your partner is one of the lucky few who can decide to never drink again and be successful. Therapy works best when it is the idea of the person who needs it. Maybe letting your partner try their solution first is the way to go. If their solution doesn’t work, gently reintroducing the idea of therapy (instead of saying, “I told you that wouldn’t work!!!!”) at that point might be more effective.

 

Kate Thieda, MS, LPCA, NCC, is a counselor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University.

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APA Reference
Thieda, K. (2012). Partner Refusing Treatment? Here’s Why. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 3, 2012, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/wellness/2012/02/partner-refusing-treatment-her...

 

George N. Collins, MA, and his co-writer Andrew Adleman, MA, in Breaking the Cycle: Free Yourself from Sex Addiction, Porn Obsession and Shame provide a guide away from the cyclic, reactive, addictive, superficial and thus unsatisfying sexual behavior.  As Collins points out in his book, “Of course it’s normal and healthy to have sexual desire and to experience sex.  But it is neither normal nor healthy for sexual desire to become all consuming.  Sexual desire should be part of a larger approach you have to life.  The goal is balance.  Interactions with partners should be about love and intimacy in addition to being about sex.” 

Collins, a former sex addict, is founder and director of Compulsion Solutions, an outpatient counseling service in the San Francisco Bay Area specializing in the treatment of men suffering from sexually compulsive behavior.  He is recognized as an expert on sexually compulsive behavior.  I find his book to be an excellent guide on ending sex addiction as it provides techniques that give intimacy to the reader’s true self and thus intimacy with others.

While Collins specializes in the counseling of sexually addictive men, his clients have included people of all sexual orientations.  For the sake of simplicity, his book is directed to heterosexual males, but as he points out, his techniques work for almost anyone.  As Collins notes, the ideas underlying his techniques can be applied with any sort of addictive behavior.  Early on, Collins points out a crucial fact about addiction, “ . . . that you can’t get enough of what won’t satisfy you! Objectifying and sexualizing people is a never-ending, negative process that yields a few minutes of excitement, a brief orgasm, then hours, days, weeks, months, and years of fear, pain, shame, self-doubt, self-criticism, judgement, and anger.”  Collins provides a collection of methods that support each other by challenging both the addiction as well as those inner voices that give rise to these negative feelings.

Collins forms the basis of his techniques as the differentiation between an individual’s true essence and the repetitive stories that the individual’s mind tells. These inner voices, or subpersonalities, Collins notes, are a normal part of the human psyche that shape the perception of oneself.  Since, however, they are not the essence of an individual’s true nature, they can be changed.  Collins quotes Eckhart Tolle, in The Power of Now, “Your mind is an instrument, a tool.  It is there to be used for a specific task, and when the task is completed, you lay it down.  As it is, I would say about 80 to 90 percent of most people’s thinking is not only repetitive and useless, but because of its dysfunctional and often negative nature, much of it is also harmful. Observe your mind and you will find this to be true.” Collins provides techniques for individuals to gain greater awareness of their own inner stories, giving them the ability to rewrite them.  While the utility of the mind is important to realize, Collins helps readers to set it aside and to live in the present moment.  As Collins writes, “Your real addiction is to your mind.”

Collins introduces his techniques by asking his readers to imagine themselves in the center of a personal amphitheater with the lights turned off.  The person standing in the center of the amphitheater is one’s self and the voices heard in the amphitheater telling one to check out new porn, visit a prostitute or repeat the typical addictive cycle are understood to be the addictive subpersonalities.   As Collins notes, these repetitive and dysfunctional stories and the personal behavior that results often seems automatic, but they are not.  By using the technique of having individuals “turn on the lights” in their amphitheater, identify, confront and reason with the voices, their stories and thus subpersonalities can be changed. 

Through the use of journaling and consciously directing these stories an addict begins to recognize “what’s always true,”  that one always has a choice.  By thus having individuals identify with the silent and true essence of their selves, rather than with the stories told in their mind, Collins points the way toward freedom from sex addiction.  As he writes, “When everything you do is fresh and you’re no longer living in reaction to your history, there are no preconceived notions, no story.  Your life will be different.”

While he refers to masters from Roberto Assagioli to Ken Wilber, George Collins has written a book that is, as he writes, “. . .not just based on what he read,” but based, perhaps more importantly, on his own previous experience as a sex addict as well as his successful counseling of sex addicts.  His book is well written, clearly based on deep principles, but written in a manner that anyone can pick up and make use of.  His inclusion of many techniques, from The Blonde in the Beemer: What to Do When You’re Out of Control to How Good Can You Stand It? Connecting with Yourself and Others shows that Collins understands the difficult, human process involved in breaking free from the cycle of sexual obsession. 

Through his own difficult personal experience and his later expertise in counseling Collins provides an excellent guide.  He satisfies his stated goal of helping his readers break the cycle of an unsatisfying life of sexually compulsive behavior and through the intimate connections they find with others make their life better.  Breaking the Cycle: Free Yourself from Sex Addiction, Porn Obsession and Shame is highly recommended.

Breaking the Cycle: Free Yourself from Sex Addiction, Porn Obsession and Shame
George N. Collins, MA with Andrew Adleman, MA
New Harbinger Publications: October 1, 2011
Paperback, 224 pages
$17.95

Psych Central's Recommendation: Worth Your Time! +++

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APA Reference
Stoeckel, M. (2011). Breaking the Cycle: Free Yourself from Sex Addiction, Porn Obsession and Shame. Psych Central. Retrieved on November 14, 2011, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/breaking-the-cycle-free-yourself-from-sex-ad...

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 14 Nov 2011
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.