Raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of stalking by expressing support for the designation of January 2021 as "National Stalking Awareness Month".

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 68 Raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of stalking by expressing support for the designation of January 2021 as ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mrs. MURPHY of Florida (for herself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of stalking by expressing support for the designation of January 2021 as ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’. Whereas approximately 1 in 6 women in the United States, at some point during her lifetime, has experienced stalk- ing victimization, during which the woman felt very fear- ful or believed that she or someone close to her would be harmed or killed; Whereas it is estimated that between 6,000,000 and 7,500,000 individuals in the United States report that they had been victims of stalking each year; Whereas more than 85 percent of victims of stalking reported that they had been stalked by someone they knew; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR68.IH HR68 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 68 IH Whereas nearly 70 percent of intimate partner stalking vic- tims were threatened with physical harm by stalkers; Whereas 11 percent of victims of stalking reported having been stalked for more than 5 years; Whereas two-thirds of stalkers pursue their victims at least once a week; Whereas many victims of stalking are forced to take drastic measures to protect themselves, including relocating, changing jobs, or obtaining protection orders; Whereas the prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunc- tion, and severe depression is much higher among victims of stalking than the general population; Whereas many victims of stalking do not report stalking to the police or contact a victim service provider, shelter, or hotline; Whereas stalking is a crime under Federal law and the laws of all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the terri- tories of the United States; Whereas stalking affects victims of every race, age, culture, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, and economic status; Whereas national organizations, local victim service organiza- tions, campuses, prosecutor’s offices, and police depart- ments stand ready to assist victims of stalking and are working diligently to develop effective and innovative re- sponses to stalking, including online stalking; Whereas there is a need to improve the response of the crimi- nal justice system to stalking through more aggressive in- vestigation and prosecution; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR68.IH HR68 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 68 IH Whereas there is a need for an increase in the availability of victim services across the United States, and the services must include programs tailored to meet the needs of vic- tims of stalking; Whereas individuals 18 to 24 years old experience the highest rates of stalking victimization, and a majority of stalking victims report their victimization first occurred before the age of 25; Whereas up to 75 percent of women in college who experience behavior relating to stalking experience other forms of victimization, including sexual or physical victimization; Whereas there is a need for an effective response to stalking on each campus; Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic has heightened the risk of cyberstalking and harassment, particularly among school- age individuals; Whereas service organizations and law enforcement entities have swiftly adapted to the COVID–19 pandemic in order to continue to serve victims of stalking; and Whereas the House of Representatives finds that ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’ provides an opportunity to educate the people of the United States about stalking: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) expresses support for the designation of 2 ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’; 3 (2) applauds the efforts of service providers for 4 victims of stalking, police, prosecutors, national and 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR68.IH HR68 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 68 IH community organizations, campuses, and private sec- 1 tor supporters to promote awareness of stalking; 2 (3) encourages policymakers, criminal justice 3 officials, victim service and human service agencies, 4 institutions of higher education, and nonprofit orga- 5 nizations to increase awareness of stalking and con- 6 tinue to support the availability of services for vic- 7 tims of stalking; and 8 (4) urges national and community organiza- 9 tions, businesses in the private sector, and the media 10 to promote awareness of the crime of stalking 11 through ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:39 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR68.IH HR68 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS