Tag Archives: stalking

July 26, 2010

“How I became a Foursquare cyberstalker”

By mensantiviolencecouncil

The combination of my geek love for technology and my anti-violence work has created a fascination for learning all that I can about technologically facilitated stalking. People post so much personal information online. Do stalkers even need to follow you home and rifle through your garbage anymore to learn more about you? Apparently, all they need is a cellphone and data plan…

How I became a Foursquare cyberstalker written by Leo Hickman and published in the Guardian last week was eery, fascinating, creepy and scary at the same time. Here’s the opening of the article.

Louise has straight, auburn hair and, judging by the only photograph I have of her, she’s in her 30s. She works in recruitment. I also know which train station she uses regularly, what supermarket she shopped at last night and where she met her friends for a meal in her home town last week. At this moment, she is somewhere inside the pub in front of me meeting with colleagues after work.

Louise is a complete stranger. Until 10 minutes ago when I discovered she was located within a mile of me, I didn’t even know of her existence. But equipped only with a smartphone and an increasingly popular social networking application called Foursquare, I have located her to within just a few square metres, accessed her Twitter account and conducted multiple cross-referenced Google searches using the personal details I have already managed to accrue about her from her online presence. In the short time it has taken me to walk to this pub in central London, I probably know more about her than if I’d spent an hour talking to her face-to-face. She doesn’t know it yet, but Louise is about to meet her new digital stalker.

Click Read More to learn even more about Louise and the implications of location based services…

Continue reading

57 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in anti-violence, education, online news, stalking

June 29, 2010

Facebook “100 Biggest Sluts” creator could face multiple charges of stalking

By mensantiviolencecouncil

An Australian man who created a Facebook page called “100 Biggest Sluts of Ballarat” could potentially face multiple charges of stalking. According to local police, 60 of the 100 women have been contacted by the police and interviews are being conducted. If charges are filed, the creator of the site would face one charge of stalking per victim, up to 100 counts.

The Facebook page listed the names of 100 women and girls from the town of Ballarat and made derogatory comments about them. Some of the girls were as young as 14.

In Australia, it is considered stalking if someone is “using the computer to offend or harass a particular person.” In the United States, online stalking behaviors can often tried as a federal crime because the information travels across state lines. Many states and college conduct policies include references to computers and technology in their stalking and harassment laws and policies. Depending on the nature of the behaviors, it is often tried as a felony.

For more information about stalking, visit the National Stalking Resource Center. They have some great information about state and federal laws, how to record stalking behaviors and a wonderful list of resources. Click on the image to the right for their brochure about stalking. It provides some great information about read flags. Pass this on to anyone you know that works with college students. Over half of stalking cases reported to the police in the United States are from individuals 18-26 years old. This crime is prevalent on college campuses and relevant to college-aged students.

Below is an excerpt from the University of Iowa anti-harassment policy.

  • Harassment” means intentional conduct directed toward an identifiable person or persons that is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent that it interferes with work, educational performance, on-campus living, or participation in a University activity on- or off-campus.

Evidence of harassment. Behavior that may be considered evidence of prohibited harassment, if it meets the definition set forth in paragraph a above, includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  1. repeated contact with another in person, by telephone, in writing, or through electronic means, after the recipient has made clear that such contact is unwelcome.
  2. physical, visual, or verbal behavior directed toward another person or an identifiable group of persons that is intended to be or is reasonably likely to be interpreted as threatening or intimidating. Behavior that constitutes speech is included within this section only to the extent to which it has a direct tendency to incite an immediate violent reaction in a reasonable person or to place a reasonable person in fear of imminent physical harm.
  3. harassment proscribed by the Iowa Criminal Code, Chapter 708, including, for example, stalking (708.11), the placement of simulated explosives (708.7), ordering merchandise or services with intent to annoy (708.7), or false reports to police (708.7).

To view the entire policy please visit http://www.uiowa.edu/~our/opmanual/ii/14.htm

8 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in anti-violence, court cases, education, healthy relationships, Media, News, online news, stalking

June 1, 2010

Victim notification through GPS tech

By mensantiviolencecouncil

GPS Monitoring Solutions has created a GPS product that may have an impact on cases that involve restraining/protective orders such as domestic violence and stalking cases. Currently, most GPS system used with offenders are passive. To access current and past locations, a law enforcement official must log in and ping the device to retrieve the information. If there is an active component such as with house arrest, the notification is only transmitted to law enforcement.

However, this new implementation of GPS would create real-time victim notifications. The victim receives a cell phone that would alert them if the offender entered an area determined by the restraining order. Not only would it provide location details needed for potential prosecution but the notification component is an active and potentially lifesaving new feature. If I understand it correctly, the phone could be set to provide a visual and/or auditory alert as well as text and email notifications.

Anyone who has ever worked with victims know that a restraining order is another passive tool. It has no restraining capabilities. Offenders walk through restraining orders all the time, often with devastating results. This application of GPS technology could prevent a violent altercation from occurring by giving the victim notification that the offender is in the vicinity. If not already implemented, an additional component could be to alert law enforcement whenever the restraining order was broken by signaling location information and have a unit dispatched to that location.

The following clips aren’t the greatest but are the only videos I could find about the technology and the company.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in anti-violence, court cases, domestic violence, Media, stalking, violence

May 27, 2010

Corporations working to end partner violence

By mensantiviolencecouncil

While checking the hundreds of Google alerts I get every day about domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault*, I stumbled across a unique organization. The organization is Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV). CAEPV is the only national nonprofit organization in the US founded by businesses community to address domestic violence as a workplace issue.

Established in 1995, CAEPV’s mission is to aid in the prevention of partner violence by leveraging the strength and resources of the corporate community. We believe that business plays an essential role in raising awareness of the issue and that our sustained efforts will help reduce and ultimately eliminate partner violence. They not only have an impressive member list that reaches over a million employees in the US, but they also provide a description of the best practices/programs of each member organization. If you see a company on the list that you recognize or do business with, contact them and let them know that you appreciate their anti-violence efforts.

CAEPV’s website provides great articles, links, fact sheets, and resources for addressing partner violence in the workshop. One helpful resource is the Six Steps for Creating a Successful Workplace Program.

They also hosted the S2 – Safer, Smarter Workplace conference in 2008 which was the 1st national conference that brought together employers and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers to collaborate about preventing and responding to domestic violence and its impact on the workplace.





*If you or anyone in your life doubts the prevalence or seriousness of violence in our community, create Google alerts for domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking and then wade through the hundred or so news alerts you receive every day.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in anti-violence, domestic violence, Domestic violence resources, education, healthy relationships, rape, sexual assault, social justice, stalking, violence

May 5, 2010

Legislative victim blaming

By mensantiviolencecouncil

Think of all the barriers that victims have in reporting their assaults to authorities. Shame, fear of not being believed, fear of retaliation, guilt, unfair questioning and legal proceedings, and in some instances fear that they themselves may be arrested. Questions about “Why did you stay?” “Were you drinking?” “What were you wearing?” “Didn’t you see it coming?” or “What did you expect?” How about being evicted from your home?

Katherine Walz just published a piece on the Huffinton Post “Adding Eviction to Injury: When Did It Become OK To Blame Crime Victims?“  that focused on survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Apparently, those who live in rental housing are vulnerable to homelessness because of eviction notices they receive after an incident of violence.

Here are some excerpts from the article.

“…up until a few years ago, when victims of violence who lived in federally-assisted low-income housing called the police to report intruders, being shot, or otherwise terrorized by their abusers, they would immediately receive an eviction notice.”

“municipalities have adopted aggressive property nuisance codes or “crime free” rental housing ordinances that obligate owners, under threat of losing their license to operate rental property, to evict all tenants when there is a crime or multiple police calls for assistance.”

Really??? This isn’t an isolated or new occurrence. Apparently, the number one reason for homelessness of women and children survivors of violence is eviction. I couldn’t find any statistics on tran-individuals or men who experience violence.

The article only mentions women as survivors of violence which is unfortunate and incorrect. However, she cites several pieces of state and federal legislation that provide eviction protection for tenants who report or experience violence. I briefly looked at the cited legislation and from what I saw the language was gender neutral, only referring to the individual as the “victim.” 

Take a look at the whole article here for more information.

I wonder how the legislation protects trans-individuals and homosexual couples? Is the protection only for tenants whose attacker receives a conviction or is protection extended to anyone who reports an incident of violence?

The National Housing Law Project website has numerous resources related to housing protection for survivors of violence as well as numerous court case descriptions, articles, forms and manuals that explain survivors’ rights. 

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in court cases, domestic violence, politics, sexual assault, stalking, violence

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