Women's Center

According to the Stalking Resource Center, "stalking is a series of actions that make you feel afraid or in danger. Stalking is serious, often violent, and can escalate over time." Stalkers may follow students, wait outside of their classroom, by their car, or frequently drive by their workplace, residence hall, or home. Cyberstalking is another form of stalking and may include harassment online; frequent texting, voicemails, or picture messages; installing programs to track internet use; or using GPS to track your location. Stalkers may also call and hang up, deliver unwanted notes or gifts, or damage a student's belongings. There are many other actions stalkers may use to intimidate you or to monitor your behavior.

People may struggle to recognize stalking as a crime, because it is often a series of non-criminal offenses; however, stalking is illegal in the state of Idaho, against the student code of conduct, and very serious. Stalking may also be perpetrated in combination with sexual violence and/or relationship violence.

Stalkers act in ways to monitor, track, harass, or intimidate. A stalker may:

• follow you;
• purposely show up at places you frequent, such as the grocery store, a place of worship, or a favorite hangout;
• wait for you at work, at your classroom, or your home;
• drive by your home or place of employment;
• repeatedly call and hang up or make otherwise harassing calls;
• post unwanted messages on your MySpace or Facebook pages;
• track your internet or phone use;
• speak with friends, family, roommates, coworkers, conduct internet searches, hire investigators, or otherwise gather information to track you;
• use GPS to track your location;
• send unwanted notes, letters, emails, text or picture messages, or gifts;
• damage your belongings.

Stalking is a serious crime, and victimization can cause serious trauma. There is no "normal" response to trauma; however, some common responses are listed below:

• depression;
• anxiety;
• isolation;
• avoidance;
• terror, fear;
• distraction or inability to concentrate;
• anger;
• stress;
• exhaustion;
• nightmares/sleep disorders;
• somatic and physical aftereffects;
• long-term depression;
• hypervigilance; or
• PTSD.

Some students may fear for their life or feel suicide is the only way to escape. There is help available!

Every stalker is different, so there is no single solution. However, there are some general guidelines:

• Trust your instincts about a situation and take threats seriously.
• Take precautions to ensure your safety.
• Consider cutting off contact with the stalker, including refraining from emails, text messages, phone calls, and third-party communication—even if it seems like it might be a way to convince the stalker to stop. Continued contact may encourage a stalker to keep stalking.
• Consider checking out a stalking resource bag from the Women's Center to help document the stalker's actions. Stalking is sometimes viewed as a series of non-criminal offenses which collectively constitutes a crime. For this reason, it is important to document and report all of the stalker's harassing actions or attempts to contact or monitor you. This includes any voicemails, emails, text messages, letters, gifts, sightings, or attempts to contact or give messages to you through another person.
• Consider informing roommates, co-workers, or supervisors of the situation so they may be supportive and help keep you safe by notifying you or the police if the stalker contacts them.

Helpful Actions:

• Believe your friends or family members.
• Thank your friends or family members for sharing this information, and let them know you care about their wellbeing.
• Encourage your friends or family members to call 911 or campus police if they feel they are in immediate danger.
• Help your friends or family members to identify campus and community resources such as the Women's Center, Counseling Center, local police, the Women's and Children's Alliance, and FACES.
• Encourage them to develop a safety plan.
• Encourage your friends or family members to keep evidence or document unwanted or intimidating behaviors or contact. Often legal cases are built based on documentation completed by a victim. Stalking documentation kits are available at the Women's Center.
• Encourage your friends or family members to notify friends, family, roommates, and co-workers about the stalker and to ask them to help watch out for their safety. Respect your friends or family members' decisions about who to share this information with; do not share this information with your friends or family members' permission.
• Refrain from revealing any information about them to the stalker. Know that stalkers may attempt to collect information from a third party (you) in order to harm or continue stalking your friends or family members. This information-seeking behavior may be especially present when your friends or family members have cut off contact or made changes to their phone numbers, places of employment, or routines.

Unhelpful Actions

• Dismissing or minimizing the seriousness of this crime--victims often legitimately fear for their life and do not feel safe to complete daily activities or even sleep.
• Blaming your friends or family members--perpetrators, NOT victims, are responsible for their crimes.
• Breaking confidence of your friends or family members to tell others about the crime--they should always have the right to tell who they choose.
• Advising your friends or family members--they are most familiar with the stalker's behavior and they may have the ability to most accurately assess what might escalate the stalker's behavior.

Stalking can be reported to the police, at FACES, or at the campus police substation.

1. Find a safe place as soon as possible. The Women's And Children's Alliance is a local domestic violence shelter in Boise, and Hope's Door is a shelter available in Caldwell. Both sites offer case management, counseling, safety planning, and legal advocacy.
2. You may call 911 to report a crime, you may make a report at FACES, or if the stalking occurs on campus, you call Boise State University Security (426-1453).
3. To consult with the VARC and to receive information and resources in a confidential manner you may call the Women's Center (426-4259). During weekends or weeknights, you may call the Boise State Security (426-1453) and ask that staff contact the VARC with a message to call you. The VARC can meet speak with you on the phone to provide options about safety planning, shelter, protection orders, police reporting, medical and counseling services, student conduct options, and a variety of other resources.
4. If you have been injured it is important to seek immediate medical attention at a medical provider or an emergency room.
5. If you wish to report to the police, it is important to preserve physical evidence of any assault. Incidents may be reported at the Family Advocacy Center and Education Services (FACES). You can also access safety planning assistance, protection order assistance, court advocacy, and information about local shelters and counselors at FACES.
6. If the stalker is a student, you may also file a complaint through the campus judicial proceedings. In that case, Boise State University does not require physical evidence to file a complaint through the Student Conduct Program. The VARC can serve as an advisor in this process. A criminal investigation may occur separate from a judicial proceeding on campus if the person who hurt you is a member of Boise State University.
7. Consider accessing counseling or other support. There are many services available on campus and in the community to support students in crisis. In Boise a 24-hour crisis line operated through the Boise Women's and Children's Alliance (WCA) is available to respond to anyone's concerns and provide referral information (343-7025). You may also call the Boise State Women's Center (426-4259) or Counseling Services (426-1601) during weekday business hours.