1/30/2023
Timothy Chapman
This January marks the 19th annual stalking awareness month, a call to action to inform and educate people about the seriousness of the crime and what types of measures that can be taken to stay safe.
An estimated 13.5 million people are stalked each year in the United States with around 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men having experienced stalking at some point in their lifetime, according to stalkingawareness.org.
Program Coordinator for the Office of Advocacy and Crime Prevention (OAVP) Patricia Ramirez said pop culture tends to downplay the seriousness of stalking, causing many people to almost glorify the crime.
“Hollywood tends to romanticize that type of behavior, or even the language that we use where it’s like ‘Oh I’m going to stalk him or stalk her on facebook,’ you know or on social media. We kind of downplay the seriousness of that crime,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said the OAVP wants to remind students of the availability of resources on campus, which can be used in a private manner.
“Even though the student is afraid or maybe is just not ready to make that report, we do emphasize that we are confidential,” she said. there is no immediate harm to an adult or a child like endangerment, we don’t have to report.”
University Police Sergeant David Pena said campus shield is an app that students and faculty can use to directly contact the UTRGV Police Department for any services they provide including a police escort option if anyone feels unsafe walking around campus by themselves.
“We call that the safe walk program. It’s a service that’s available 24 hours, 24/7, 365 [days] all year round any time. All you have to do is just contact the police department and request an escort to whichever destination here on campus,” Pena said.
Pena said documentation is very important when it comes to apprehending whoever is being accused of stalking.
“If you have photos, if you have messages, if you have videos. We also recommend saving those, don’t delete them and holding on to it, because that can also be critical in a case,” Pena said.
Sergeant Pena encourages students and faculty to report any suspicious activity if they feel unsafe.
“My message to the public is, there’s resources out there, do not hesitate, don’tt feel like you are bothering. Feel free to reach out to us,” Pena said.
For more information on national stalking awareness month you can visit stalkingawareness.org
To download the Campus Shield app you can go to the Google Play Store on Android devices or the App Store on ios.
