The Suzy Lamplugh Trust is a charity dedicated to the issue of stalking – helping to raise awareness of stalking as a problem, and supporting the victims of stalking. Every year, towards the end of April, they run the National Stalking Week event to help raise more attention to their campaigns and to help those suffering from a stalker to get the help they need.
2023’s National Stalking Week will run from 24th to 28th April and this year the focus will be on stalking among young people. For this article we wanted to look at the issues surrounding stalking, and also problems among anonymous bullying with young people, and let you know how EJM Investigations could help.
Young People and Stalking
Stalking in young people is a complex issue and one that may be surprisingly common. Some studies have shown that stalking may be just as prevalent in adolescents as it is in adults.
When we talk about stalking and young people, there are two sides to consider – stalking where young people are the victims, and stalking where adolescents are the perpetrators. They are not one and the same – adolescents can be stalked by adults, and they can also stalk adults.
Charities are looking to address both sides – how to best support vulnerable young people who are the victims of stalkers, and also how to help educate stalkers on their behaviours, and make sure they stop what they are doing and can be rehabilitated.
Stalking can take many forms, including telephone calls, unwanted approaches in person, cyberstalking online, making actual threats, and even carrying out physical violence.
And there are a number of potential causes too. In studies, stalking motivation has been identified as being either because:
- The stalker is a bully, and they are stalking the victim knowing that it will cause additional distress
- The stalker is retaliating against a perceived slight
- The stalker is experiencing rejection, perhaps from a romantic advance or because the stalker is an excluded parent who, due to past behaviour, has no custody allowances
- The stalker is expressing behaviours that are classified as disorganised or disturbed
- The stalker is acting in a predatory manner
- The stalker is seeking intimacy
For anyone, being the victim of stalking is a scary and anxiety-inducing time and it can have a serious impact on mental wellbeing. The ability for humans to feel switch off and feel safe in their environment is key to the natural recovery of the energy expended during the day – when stalked, victims lose this ability and are constantly in a sense of heightened tension.
When young people experience stalking from other adolescents, organisations such as the school or college involved can try to get involved to help. The police should still be contacted as well, of course.
When young people are stalked by adults, it becomes even more paramount for the police to be involved at the earliest possible opportunity. Schools and colleges are less able to get involved since they are typically not involved with the stalker, but they should still be consulted so that they can ensure they offer a safe and secure environment.
At the same time, not all victims of stalking know who their stalker is. Stalking that is done in person by someone who is making sure they are disguised, telephone stalking, and cyberstalking can all be carried out anonymously.
And this can increase the anxiety levels for the victim, because not only are they going through all the emotions related to being a stalking victim, they also panic about who the potential stalker is and what they could potentially do – an unknown threat will almost always be scarier.
Online Bullying and Harassment
Young people are also extremely vulnerable to cyberbullying and other forms of online harassment, and this is typically the result of bullies who are a similar age. Bullying has long been a problem amongst young people, but it is exacerbated thanks to the nature of the internet:
- Perpetrators have more confidence to say vile things when they are behind a screen
- Victims spend much of their time online, thanks to smartphones, and so are constantly subject to bullying with no downtime
- Perpetrators can easily make themselves anonymous if they want to bully someone
Bullying and harassment are also serious concerns for young people and their parents, and while they may not be as serious as stalking, they can have a profound effect on the quality of life for victims.
Support Available
So, what support options are available for young people and their parents who are suffering from the issues related to stalking and harassment?
The most important factor for parents is to instill a good level of communication with their children, so that they will always report when something is wrong. You can’t help them if they don’t tell you they are being stalked or bullied.
Then, you’ll want to get the school or college and the police involved.
However, resources for these institutions are limited and so you may also want to seek help from a private investigator, and here at EJM Investigations there are a number of ways we can support you.
Primarily, we can put our resources to use to identify any anonymous perpetrators. Using our methods, we can help you to work out who is carrying out the offence, and provide sufficient evidence that you can then take to the police so that action is taken.
But we are also experts in the use of online resources and we can support you in other ways too, including helping to deal with blocking stalkers or bullies and showing you how to make sure you don’t leave identifiable information online that could assist a stalker.
You’d be surprised at the footprint you have online – we can consult on the best ways to limit the information you provide to a stalker.
If you want to know more about the options available, give us a call on 01772 334700. We will always act in a discreet and professional manner, and are experts at dealing with the emotional circumstances around cases such as stalking and harassment.