January is National Stalking Awareness Month

January 2024 marks the 20th annual National Stalking Awareness Month, an annual call to action to recognize and respond to this traumatic and dangerous victimization. 

Stalking Awareness Month provides an opportunity to learn more about behavior which victimizes and negatively impacts members of our Arizona community, including our students and employees. It also enables amplification of available resources, supports and reporting options. This month, the University of Arizona invites you to join national efforts to spread awareness about stalking. The Clery Act defines stalking as a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for that person’s safety or the safety of others or to suffer substantial emotional distress. Stalking is prohibited by university policy, and is often criminal. Individual acts, which form the pattern of conduct of stalking range from seemingly innocuous behaviors to outrageous acts of violence. Fear is highly personal, so is stalking.

Stalkers use technology and in-person tactics to watch, contact, threaten, exploit and frighten their victims. Common stalking tactics include unwanted calls, texts, emails, messages, following and watching victims and showing up uninvited at social events, homes and workplaces.

The University Compliance Division is calling on the campus community to join efforts to raise awareness around stalking this month. Learn about the supports and resources available to victims, and find links to hotlines, protective services, events, campus resources, and download a Zoom background on the #NSAM2024 web page.