Long Relationships

Yesterday I talked about stalking and intimidation, and how it is defined by police. (Or by the NSW police, anyway, but your local police shouldn’t differ all that much.) However, stalking doesn’t always take place in reality; sometimes it takes place online.

This is called cyberstalking.

What is cyberstalking? Law officials have yet to decide on a clear cut definition of cyberstalking, but here are some characteristics of stalking from the online stalking page:
• Malice: the desire and intention to hurt someone.
• Premeditation: the presence of planning and organization.
• Repetition: the harassment does not occur only once.
• Distress: the activity causes fear and distress to the targeted individual.
• Obsession: the stalker cannot stop his or her actions.
• Vendetta: the stalker seeks revenge against the targeted individual.
• Threats: a statement that makes the targeted individual fear for his or her physical safety.
• Disregarded Warnings to Stop: the targeted individual has clearly warned the stalker to stop, and the stalker ignores the plea.
Does this sound familiar to you?

Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s any less frightening or traumatic than being stalked offline. Online stalking can also have just as many variations as offline stalking, including emails, site/blog commenting, libel (a false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person) in many forms, and other forms as well.

However, given the lack of a clear cut definition and this being a relatively new area for enforcing law, it’s not surprising many victims of cyberstalking fell like they can’t do anything about what is happening.

If you are being stalked online, there are a few things you can do:

*Make it clear to the person you don’t want to be contacted by him/her.

*Save everything. You never know when you might need to provide evidence.

*If they are using email, you can report them to the email company.

*If they are using social sites, you can report them to the site.

*Some blogs let you password protect posts. If you want to move your blog somewhere else, put up a password protected post letting only your friends know where you’re moving to.

*You can switch your email to a different email provider.

I know the last two actions don’t seem fair because you are the victim, but if you feel threatened, you need to take action.

Please stop by tomorrow for some tips to help prevent yourself from being stalked as well as some places you can go to get your questions answered.