00:00Look, I think these figures, you know, do track with what we know across the domestic
00:06family and sexual violence sector, that this is an increasing concern for women in particular.
00:13Two million women, that's an awful lot of the Australian female population.
00:18We also know that, you know, the e-safety commissioner has been belling the cat on online
00:23abuse of women and that that's a very big part of this too.
00:27So yeah, you do believe it has actually been increasing over the years?
00:31Yeah, I think so.
00:32And what we know is that people have many different platforms to pursue stalking behaviours.
00:38So with the rise of social media and messaging sites, we can really see that people are actually
00:47mobilising to use those.
00:49And what we know is when it's in the context of intimate partner violence, it can take
00:53many different forms as well.
00:55So we do know that we're seeing this get more serious and that it is an indicator,
01:00particularly in the situation where there's an intimate partner relationship, previous
01:05or current, that this is an indicator of escalating concerns.
01:10And so you're with an organisation at the coalface of this.
01:13Can you give us any examples that you've come across of people experiencing stalking?
01:19Yeah, so we hear quite a lot from women on our 1800 Full Stop National line about women
01:26who, in domestic violence relationships, find mobile devices attached to their car, their
01:32phones have apps attached that allow the perpetrator to track them.
01:38So we know that those things are happening.
01:40We also hear of the use of those constant texting or messaging across multiple platforms.
01:49So a woman might be trying to get through her day or perhaps get dinner for the kids
01:55and she's getting multiple messages.
01:57And it might be texting, it might be WhatsApp, it might be Instagram messaging.
02:02So that overwhelming feeling that you just can't get away from it.
02:06And it's often happening in intimate partner relationships.
02:10And just how hard can it be for someone to extract themselves from that situation safely?
02:17Yeah, I think the stats say about 30% of the stalking that women experience by men is in
02:23the context of an intimate partner relationship.
02:25So what that tells us is that it tracks with what we know.
02:29Secondly, it really shows how hard it is to kind of cut off contact.
02:35And then a lot of women are in this situation where they're co-parenting with their former
02:40partner.
02:41They may actually be, you know, forced to do that with family law orders.
02:46And so they may actually be in a situation where this kind of unwelcome, constant, you
02:51know, hyper-stalking or hyper-monitoring is occurring.
02:56And they actually can't say, I never want to speak to you again.
02:59They don't have that choice.
03:01So you know, often people are in quite complex situations that this really can exacerbate
03:06women's sense of safety and security.
03:09And so there are so many different situations in which people can encounter stalking, but
03:14Can you give people some general tips about how they might deal with it?
03:18Yeah, I mean, I think for a start, we need to look to those of us around others.
03:23So often a person who's being stalked really has no control over the fact that that's happening.
03:30We'd want everyone to seek assistance, you know, along the way, if they think that they've
03:34got monitoring devices installed on their car or in their phone or in their homes.
03:39And you can contact, you know, some of the staying home, leaving violence and other services
03:44that are in New South Wales and nationally similar services, domestic violence services
03:48can help.
03:49But we would also say, you know, that kind of digital hygiene is important just to keep
03:54an eye on who's following you on social media.
03:57You know, do you need to keep your accounts private?
04:00But let's not shift the accountability onto people who are subject to this behaviour.
04:04Let's make sure that as family, friends, as people in universities, high schools and workplaces,
04:10that when people are telling us about their concerns, and let's face it, 52% of women
04:15who'd been stalked said that they'd experienced anxiety and panic attacks as a result.
04:21This is serious and we should be listening to women and supporting them to either seek
04:25help or, you know, take actions to protect their safety.
04:29There's a lot that we can do as a community.
04:32And how do you feel about how the laws stand on this at the moment?
04:35Look, about 30% of those women who'd been subject to stalking had spoken to law enforcement
04:42agencies.
04:43That tracks with what we know about 20% of DV survivors, 8% of people who've been subject
04:48to rape and sexual assault report to police.
04:51So it tracks that it's much lower than the number.
04:55So it's not a solution to only focus on the criminal legal system and our laws, but we
05:00need to make sure that our laws and our police capabilities keep up with the really growing
05:07forms of stalking that we know that are being used against women these days in order to
05:13undermine their sense of safety, but also to actively monitor and track them.
05:18And, you know, there is a link that a significant number of women who were stalked went on to
05:25then to either be threatened or experience actual assault, and that's very serious.
05:30And so if someone's watching this now and wants to get in touch, how do they get in
05:34touch with your organisation?
05:35You can call us on 1800FULLSTOP and, you know, have a conversation with our staff and we
05:41can help you access those services, particularly if you're concerned about being stalked or
05:45monitored via those devices installed on your car or phone.
05:49I'd also say 1800RESPECT is available and they can also support you.
05:55Really what I'd say is if you are being stalked or harassed, remember that you didn't ask
05:59for this.
06:00It's not your fault and it's not your job to find a way to shut that person down.
06:06Really encourage you to, you know, reach out for support, tell people around you your safety
06:11matters and you really matter, and you don't have to be silenced or shamed by this behaviour.
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