"Easy" digital stalking becoming more of an issue, says Peterborough Women's Aid

"Easy" digital Stalking is becoming a bigger problem for young people, according to Peterborough Women's Aid.

This National Stalking Awareness Week, Cambridgeshire Police are encouraging anyone concerned about stalking to get in touch.

National stalking support charity The Suzy Lamplugh Trust says it's seeing a rise in the number of 16-24 year olds calling the helpline.

Stalking behaviours can be identified using the FOUR signs:

• Fixated: someone being followed during their daily routine, spied on, being watched, loitering in any place frequented by the victim
• Obsessive: being monitored online through emails, social media, or any other forms of electronic communication, identity theft
• Unwanted: gifts, messages, phone calls, emails
• Repeated: nuisance or threatening behaviour, being accosted or bullied repeatedly, trying to contact the victim by any means

Cambridgeshire Police say there were 7,695 incidents of stalking and harassment in the past 12 months, an increase of 365 on the previous year.

Mandy Geraghty, from Peterborough Women's Aid, says she's seeing more victims of social media stalking:

'We talk to our young people about when they're posting on social media, to make sure their location settings are controlled, that they don't post photos with recognisable locations in the background.

'Having social media makes stalking a lot easier. People can find out info on you that they wouldn't necessarily find out if you met them in a bar or in a club. Quite intimate details like where you work, where you socialise, where your friends are.

'We've had clients that don't want to leave their home because they know that people have found out what they do on social media; clients that have had to shut down all their accounts out of fear.

'Stalking is categories as only two attempts that are causing harassment, alarm or distress. If you don't get contact from someone that is causing that - you can report it to police.'

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