Raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of stalking by expressing support for the designation of January 2023 as "National Stalking Awareness Month".

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 53 Raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of stalking by expressing support for the designation of January 2023 as ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 24, 2023 Mr. FITZPATRICK (for himself and Mrs. DINGELL) 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 2023 as ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’. Whereas approximately 1 in 3 women in the United States, at some point during her lifetime, has experienced stalk- ing victimization, causing her to feel very fearful or be- lieve that she or someone close to her would be harmed or killed; Whereas it is estimated that, each year, 13,400,000 individ- uals in the United States report that they have been vic- tims of stalking; Whereas more than 85 percent of victims of stalking report that they have been stalked by someone they know; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR53.IH HR53 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 53 IH Whereas nearly 70 percent of intimate partner stalking vic- tims are threatened with physical harm by stalkers; Whereas stalking is a risk factor for intimate partner homi- cide; Whereas 3 in 4 female victims of intimate partner homicides were stalked during the year preceding the homicide by their killers; Whereas 11 percent of victims of stalking report having been stalked for 5 or more years; Whereas 2⁄3 of stalkers pursue their victims at least once a week; Whereas many victims of stalking are forced to take drastic measures to protect themselves, including relocating, changing jobs, or obtaining protection orders; Whereas the prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, social dysfunc- tion, and severe depression is much higher among victims of stalking than the general population; Whereas many victims of stalking do not report stalking to the police or contact a victim service provider, shelter, or hotline; Whereas stalking is a crime under Federal law, the laws of all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the terri- tories of the United States, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice; Whereas stalking affects victims of every race, age, culture, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, and economic status; Whereas national organizations, local victim service organiza- tions, campuses, prosecutor’s offices, and police depart- ments stand ready to assist victims of stalking and are VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR53.IH HR53 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 53 IH 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; Whereas there is a need for an increase in the availability of victim services across the United States, and those serv- ices must include programs tailored to meet the needs of victims of stalking; Whereas individuals between 18 and 24 years old experience the highest rates of stalking victimization, and a majority of stalking victims report their victimization first oc- curred before the age of 25; Whereas up to 75 percent of women in college who experience behavior relating to stalking also experience other forms of victimization, including sexual or physical victimiza- tion; Whereas college students with disabilities are twice as likely as college students without disabilities to experience stalking; Whereas there is a need for an effective response to stalking on each campus; Whereas almost twice as many victims of stalking are stalked using technology, such as phone calls, text messages, so- cial media platforms, internet posts, emails, and elec- tronic tracking, as victims of stalking who are stalked without the use of technology; 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR53.IH HR53 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 53 IH Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) expresses support for the designation of a 2 ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’; 3 (2) applauds the efforts of service providers for 4 victims of stalking, police, prosecutors, national and 5 community organizations, campuses, and private sec- 6 tor supporters to promote awareness of stalking; 7 (3) encourages policymakers, criminal justice 8 officials, victim service and human service agencies, 9 institutions of higher education, and nonprofit orga- 10 nizations to increase awareness of stalking and con- 11 tinue to support the availability of services for vic- 12 tims of stalking; and 13 (4) urges national and community organiza- 14 tions, businesses in the private sector, and the media 15 to promote awareness of the crime of stalking 16 through ‘‘National Stalking Awareness Month’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR53.IH HR53 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB