This week has been National Stalking Awareness Week (25-29 April) which, this year, has unfortunately coincided with other days and weeks, such as Lesbian Visibility Day and Week; Holocaust Memorial Day and International Dance Day. Back in 2018 it was earlier in April, which was the last time I posted about it on this blog:
https://marchingasonefeministblog.blogspot.com/2018/04/national-stalking-awareness-week.html
There I summed up the main points about stalking, but didn't go into much detail. However, my main research focus is that stalking is still perceived as something that is committed by only one person, who stalks one victim, and is usually an ex-boyfriend or husband/ex-husband or even a want-to-be boyfriend. There are the occasional celebrity stalkers but I'm not going to discuss those because that's a different aspect and obviously not one I have experienced. My focus is on ordinary women who suffer stalking problems, whether they are aware of them or not. It's an easy assumption that you will know that you are being stalked but this is not necessarily so, especially if the type of stalking doesn't fit stereotypical descriptions.
What Are the Non-Stereotypical Forms of Stalking?
One lesser-known form of stalking is the generic category of non-individual stalking. Within this, there are subcategories, depending on which collective group of people is responsible for the stalking and the context within which it takes place. Examples of these: group stalking; community stalking; institutional stalking; campus stalking; neighbourhood stalking. This can be committed by, for instance, religious institutions; educational institutions; political groups; neighbourhoods; or be part of domestic violence whereby the boyfriend or husband or ex or father (including estranged fathers) stalks and harasses girlfriend, wife/ex-wife, daughter through other people, thereby turning individual stalking into collective stalking. I'm focusing on male to cis/non-cis female stalking because it's the most common.
That doesn't mean there are not other types of stalkers. But I'm not focusing on those rarer examples.
The stalking may stay within one subcategory or stretch between more than one. For instance, you can belong to one cultural community which, unbeknownst to you, could have links with an educational institution you attend/ have attended and the community may also have undeclared links with other religious organizations/ institutions/ and political groups. This way, stalking can continue beyond a limited context, time and particular social setting, even though the individual no long belongs to, attends or even takes an interest in that collective (be it a group, community, organization or institution) if they ever did!
Conversely, you can be blissfully unaware of political and religious links that an educational establishment may have that could negatively impact on you, your studies and your student experience, and how they can function at the institutional level. If you were aware of it before attending such institutions, you wouldn't be so stupid as to go there in the first place! Which is why transparency is important because it is impossible for an individual prospective student (or staff) to check for potential bias, discrimination and safety issues before they apply. Everyone expects the staff and admin working there to be a good fit for the ethos of the educational institution. For instance, you don't expect to find an evangelical fundamentalist Christian in a high admin position of a secular, left-wing university. That's not just about inclusivity when the institution in question doesn't even have an anti-homophobia policy! This makes it even more risky to allow a person with such strong beliefs who is active and influential in that particular religious community and beyond it, to handle sensitive staff and student data, issues and problems, some of which can include discrimination, bullying, harassment, and stalking.
Another example is when a religious organization / institution of one faith can have strong ties with other religious groups / sects / organizations / institutions of a different faith, despite having apparently conflicting principles eg on LGBTQIAPD+, anti-Semitism and Zionism. This can be especially dangerous if, for example, it gives members of certain Christian sects and movements, some of which are reportedly suspected of stalking, access to Jewish spaces and LGBTQIAPD+ people.
I've had experience of this: I was at a booked, paid social event in a synogogue, when I discovered that the man who chose to sit next to me and my mother was someone who openly declared himself to be a fundamentalist Christian, a Watchman, and part of a movement to christianize Israel. It wasn't an interfaith event and he didn't attend or belong to said synogogue. I don't think it unreasonable to expect a synogogue to be a safe space for Jewish people! If there wasn't so much anti-Semitism in society, then maybe it would be less worrying. But then why is a synogogue inviting (or so he claimed) a fundamentalist Christian to a Jewish event, knowing that this could endanger their Jewish and LGBTQIAPD+ members, by potentially exposing them to anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, homophobia and genderphobia? Surely, synogogues should only be for Jews and Jewish allies. If, for instance, a Sister of Sion was invited, even though she would be a nun, you wouldn't feel threatened because she must abide by their principle of not converting Jews, and focusing on a mutual respect, understanding and love for the Jewish people. Sionian nuns talk the talk, and walk the walk by playing an active part in routing out anti-Semitism in Catholicism, including language used in prayer, ceasing to blame Jews for Christ's death and helping in the writing of the Nostra Aetate. Here's an article that expands on this. They are a good example of an ally that you wouldn't mind coming across in a synogogue.
A further religious example is again one I have experienced. This time it was while attending a Philosophy Conference at York University (2015). My mother and I were around the campus gates (walking) when two young women (of typical uni age) accosted us. At first we assumed they were UG students who might need to ask something but later we realised they were not. Who asks a question about why the cows stay in the field despite there not being any obvious fences to keep them in? (The cows were happily grazing on our left.🌾🐄🐄🐄🐄🌿) Pardon?! After bending our ears for a while, they finally came to the point: they admitted they were not students there and gave us their card on which was written the address, contact details and church meeting times for the Latter Day Saints! Here's the card:
As if this wasn't bad enough, they managed to randomly pop up again on a different day, and time but this time further into the campus. They took the same campus bus as us and fellow conference attendees and speakers, as we were all on our way to the same social dinner for that conference, in town. There was only one thing for it, we put our kippahs on!
How did these two women manage to time it so perfectly without being either students or conference attendees? It was the first time I'd come across this branch of Christianity, also known as Mormons who are reported to have stalked people. Luckily, my mother is knowledgeable about all religions, cults and movements so enlightened me who they are and their beliefs!
People shouldn't be allowed to accost you and start advertising their religion as you go about your own business! Then when it's clear you're not interested try accosting you again despite being complete strangers! How many times would they keep trying? Imagine if I was a student there. What could I do? What support would uni give me? It could disrupt attending uni! Do they infiltrate student socials and societies too? The women, who spoke with an European accent that I couldn't place, so I'm assuming they live in England rather than just visiting, were neither students nor visitors so they fall into a black hole as far as a uni is concerned. After all, they didn't explain what they were doing there and who they were. A card with some church details on it doesn't tell me much!
I think street harassment is too often focused on sexual harassment by strangers while ignoring other types eg religious, neighbourhood, institutional and so on which can be carried out by people who are strangers or not necessarily so! Indeed, street sexual harassment can be carried out by a friend of a friend of a friend of someone you know and so can be premeditated, therefore, they are strangers to you but not a complete stranger as in a gross opportunist.
I'll continue discussing and raising awareness of stalking in my next post, but focusing on stalking tactics that are used by both individuals and collectives.
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