Stalking

Safety Alert: The stalker may be monitoring your computer use. Exit out
and consider using a safer computer such as one in a public library
or come into the SCSU Women's Center to get information on how to
protect yourself from cybersquatting.

Stalking is unpredictable and dangerous. There are no guarantees that
what works for one person will work for another. Yet you can take steps
to increase your safety. Contact the Women's Center's Gender Violence
Prevention Program. We can help you devise a personalized safety plan
specific to your situation, give you information about local laws, refer
you to other services and help you weigh options such as seeking a
protection order.

Call us at 320.308.3995 or 308.4958.

• If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
• Trust your instincts. Don't downplay the danger. If you feel you are unsafe, you probably are.
• Take threats seriously. Danger generally is higher when the stalker talks about suicide or murder or a victim tries to leave or end the relationship.

Develop a safety plan, including changing your routine, arranging a
place to stay, (you may want to talk with an advocate about alternative
housing on campus) and having a friend accompany you. Also, decide
in advance what to do if the stalker shows up at your home, work,
school, or somewhere else. Tell people how they can help you.

Don't communicate with the stalker or respond to attempts to contact
you. However, although do monitor the messages to looks for patterns
of escalation.

Stalking is a crime.

• Keep evidence of the stalking. When the stalker follows you or contacts you, write down the time, date, place, and how it made you feel. Keep e-mails by printing them out, phone messages, letters,or notes. Photograph anything of yours the stalker damages and any injuries the stalker causes. Ask witnesses to write down what they saw.
• Contact the police (320-251-1200) and/or public safety (320-308-1200). The stalker may also have broken other laws by doing things like assaulting you or stealing or destroying your property. Contact Public Safety for information on protecting yourself on campus.
• Consider getting a protection order that makes it illegal for the stalker to contact you in anyway. You may also be able to get a no-trespass order for campus in certain situations. The Gender Violence Prevention Program has the protection order applications available to fill out and can assist with the process. We strongly encourage you not to file a protective order without an advocate's assistance. Make a copy for SCSU Public safety and provide a picture of the stalker if you have one and a license plate.
• Tell family, friends, roommates, and co-workers about the stalking and seek their support. Tell public safety staff at your job or school. Ask them to help watch out for your safety.
• File a harassment/discrimination complaint with the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion & Title IX Coordinator in the Equity and Affirmative Action Office (320-308-3125) if the stalker is a student, faculty or staff member at St. Cloud State University. A Women's Center advocate can assist you with this process.