Are you a victim of stalking and harassment? We’ll help you prove it.
Stalking is a form of harassment. It can be from someone you know or someone you don’t know. A stalker will repeatedly watch, follow or harass you.
Many people who are aware they are being stalked are living in fear for their safety and their family’s safety, as victims never really know when it will end, how it will end and how to prove it. It can become an all-consuming fear for the person being stalked and can be hugely distressing.
Read more advice on stalking and how to gather evidence.
In 2017-2018, there were 10,214 recorded stalking offences and there are ongoing concerns that not all complaints are being investigated or recorded correctly. Having the proof that you are being stalked is so very vital and that’s where we can help.
At ONRECORD, we have developed a suite of online tools to help you record and gather evidence to prove you are a victim of stalking and harassment. We also have a free app which can you download and use, offering a convenient way to get the evidence you need.
To find out more about our evidence gathering tools, click here [sign up page], or read on to see our helpful tips and advice for proving stalking.
Start By Keeping Records
Our advice is:
- Keep a detailed record on every occasion;
- Don’t give up keeping records – they will be crucial if you don’t get a good enough response from the police and they will be excellent evidence when you get help.
If you don’t make good records you’re really at a disadvantage. Remember, keeping records is what anyone who has a professional job, doctors, lawyers, police, anybody, does and it could be the difference between being heard and helped and being ignored.
If you keep good and detailed records of every event, you’ll end up with a chronology report, organised by date and time, that’s a weapon you can use against your stalker.
Your chronology report will also be helpful if those you try to get help from don’t take action or later deny knowing about the extent or seriousness of the problem. Anyone who lets you down needs to know that, if they get investigated, they will be in trouble for not taking you seriously.
Equally if you’re lucky enough to get good support and help then your records will be excellent evidence to use. Make sure anyone you complain to realises you have your records to support what you’re saying.
Using ONRECORD you don’t part with your records, you just share them. They can’t be “lost” in the system that way.
How to keep records of stalking
You may want to use different labels to separately record different kinds of behaviour. For example you could keep separate records of being followed, being watched, getting emails or whatever different kinds of trouble you are suffering. Sorting events under different labels will make it easier for a reader to see the extent and frequency of each problem and seriousness of each incident.
Because you need to prove a course of conduct, by which we mean a series of behaviours, you should include a record of all repeats of events. The number and frequency of events will illustrate how the pressure builds on you (for example repeated phone calls – take a screenshot of your mobile if it shows calls received).
- Record each individual incident in accordance with our guidance on making good records.
- Make a record of the effect on each occasion – did you fear violence/ experience serious alarm or distress
- Also include any change to your daily activities caused by the event including what you did and why.
The impact score
After you make each record, ONRECORD invites you to give the incident an impact score.
It’s helpful to say why you have given it that score – for example whether the incident caused fear of violence or serious alarm or distress or did it make you change your habits. It’s really important to be sure the reader understands the severity, frequency, effect and impact.