OZARKA COLLEGE

H. RES. 46

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

Raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking by establishing January 2009

as `National Stalking Awareness Month.'

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 9, 2009

Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Mrs.

MALONEY, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MATSUI, and Mr.

MARCHANT) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

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RESOLUTION

Raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking by establishing January 2009

as `National Stalking Awareness Month'.

Whereas an estimated 1,006,970 women and 370,990 men are stalked annually in the

United States and, in the majority of such cases, the person is stalked by someone who is

not a stranger;

Whereas 81 percent of women, who are stalked by an intimate partner, are also physically

assaulted by that partner, and 76 percent of women, who are killed by an intimate partner,

were also stalked by that intimate partner;

Whereas 74.2 percent of stalking victims reported that the stalking partner interfered with

their employment, 26 percent of stalking victims lose time from work as a result of their

victimization, and 7 percent never return to work;

Whereas stalking victims are forced to take drastic measures to protect themselves, such

as relocating, changing their addresses, changing their identities, changing jobs, and

obtaining protection orders;

Whereas stalking is a crime that cuts across race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation,

physical and mental ability, and economic status;

Whereas stalking is a crime under Federal law and under the laws of all 50 States and the

District of Columbia;

Whereas rapid advancements in technology have made cyber-surveillance the new

frontier in stalking;

Whereas there are national organizations, local victim service organizations, prosecutors'

offices, and police departments that stand ready to assist stalking victims and who are

working diligently to craft competent, thorough, and innovative responses to stalking;

Whereas there is a need to enhance the criminal justice system's response to stalking and

stalking victims, including aggressive investigation and prosecution; and

Whereas the House of Representatives urges the establishment of January 2009 as

National Stalking Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That--

(1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--

(A) National Stalking Awareness Month provides an opportunity to educate the people of

the United States about stalking;

(B) all Americans should applaud the efforts of the many victim service providers, police,

prosecutors, national and community organizations, and private sector supporters for their

efforts in promoting awareness about stalking; and

(C) policymakers, criminal justice officials, victim service and human service agencies,

nonprofits, and others should recognize the need to increase awareness of stalking and the

availability of services for stalking victims; and

(2) the House of Representatives urges national and community organizations, businesses

in the private sector, and the media to promote

Click on the url below to be connected to a domestic violence website to learn about the common myths associated with domestic violence.  If you are a student or employee on one of the Ozarka College campuses and need more information about domestic violence, please contact Joan Stirling at 368-2007 or come to the Administration Building.  I am located in the office suite between Finance and the President's office.

http://www.domesticviolence.org/common-myths/

The following tips from George Mason University Sexual Assault Services was taken from an article entitled Cyber Stalking:  Danger on the Information Highway and can be found on the National Center for Victims of Crime webpage under the Stalking Resource Center at http://www.ncvc.org/src/AGP.Net/Components/DocumentViewer/Download.aspxnz?DocumentID=33858.

In order to better protect yourself on-line:

1. Use a gender-neutral screen name.

2. Never give your password to anyone, especially if someone sends you an instant message

(IM).

3. Don’t provide your credit card number or other identifying information as proof of age to

access or subscribe to a web site run by a company with which you are unfamiliar.

4. Tell children not give out their real name, address, or phone number over the Internet

without permission.

5. Use a free e-mail account such as Hotmail (

www.hotmail.com) or YAHOO!www.yahoo.com) to pass messages in newsgroups, mailing listings, enter chat rooms, fill

(Tips #1 – 8 were developed by the George Mason University Sexual Assault Services, 1999.)

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out forms, or correspond with someone you don’t know well.

6. Don’t give your primary e-mail address out to anyone you don’t know.

7. Spend time on newsgroups, mailing lists, and chat rooms as a “silent” observer before

“speaking” or posting messages.

8. When you do participate on-line, only type what you would say to someone in person.

9. Don’t respond to e-mail from a stranger; when you reply, you are verifying your e-mail

address to the sender.

10. On a regular basis (at least once a month), type your name into Internet search engines to

see what information, if any, pops up. To have your name removed from any directories,

contact each search engine on which you are listed and request to be removed.

Holidays can be a stressful time in all homes, including in homes where domestic violence occurs.  It can be helpful to be pro-active and de-stress your holidays in various ways.  The url below identifies five ways to de-stress the holidays for all homes.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Five-Easy-Ways-to-De-Stress-Your-Holidays&id=373061

To find the answers to frequently asked questions about sexual assault, go to the government's Women's Health web site:  http://www.4woman.gov/faq/sexual-assault.cfm.  The site includes information about how sexual assault affects you emotionally and physically, what to do if you or your daughter is sexually assaulted, date rape drugs, and more. 

 

An Empty Place at the Table is a display that can be seen near the President's office in the Administration Building on the Melbourne campus.  The display is in memory of those who have lost their lives to domestic violence so that in remembering we can promote social change in their honor. 

An Empty Place at the Table was first presented in October 1993. Because it was so well received, WRC (Women’s Resource Center, Inc. of Scranton Pennsylvania,) has presented it every October since then as part of the commemoration of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.   Ozarka College has recreated the display with permission from the Women's Resource Center, Inc., of Scranton.

The place cards at the table read: 

 Arkansans -This place setting represents the 30 women who were fatal victims of domestic violence in Arkansas in 2007.  

 Margie Holodnak Davis - Margie was a nurse, a mother of two, ”a giving person.” Blue was her favorite color. The white napkin represents her profession. 

Domestic violence is harmful to families.  To learn about the possible effects of domestic violence on children, please access the following website:  http://www.centeragainstdv.org/what/effects/index.html.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  The Colorado Bar Association, as part of a family law special edition, answers the questions of why domestic violence happens through a series of true/false questions and answers.  To read the questions and the answers, click on the url below:

http://www.cobar.org/index.cfm/ID/0/subID/2925/Why-Does-Domestic-Violence-Happen?-True-or-False?/

Sometimes the abuser will use the identity of a victim of domestic violence to exhibit power and control over the victim.  The url below will take you to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence webpage that lists ways of protecting your identity if you are a victim..

http://www.ncadv.org/protectyourself/ProtectingYourIdentity_106.html