Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the seriousness of stalking (a) through social media and (b) otherwise.
Karen Bradley
Stalking is a deeply disturbing crime which can leave its victims living in fear for years. That is why we introduced new legislation in 2012 which made stalking an offence in its own right.
To mark National Stalking Awareness Week, we are using Twitter to raise awareness of the increases in prosecutions and convictions for these crimes to help improve victim confidence in the criminal justice system.
The Government has committed £80 million to support victims of violence against women and girls, including, stalking, between 2016 and 2020. This includes funding for the National Stalking Helpline run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. Additionally, we have consulted on the introduction of a new civil Stalking Protection Order to tackle perpetrators at an early stage to help prevent victims becoming targets of a prolonged campaign of abuse. Our response to this consultation will be published in due course. Through the Police Innovation Fund, we are supporting the police to identify ways to manage the significant volume of online material in abuse, harassment and stalking cases, so that evidence can be collected more easily and a strong case built to bring a prosecution.
