Domestic Harmony

Offering shelter, advocacy, and support services to survivors of domestic violence
Home     About Us     Information     Duck Derby     Help Us     Newsletter      
Safety     Stalking     Power and Control Wheel      
A

Stalking

If you are being stalked, call Domestic Harmony's hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
888-439-1454 or the  Stalking Victim Hotline: 517-543-3775

If you are in immediate danger, you should call 911.


What is Stalking?
Stalking is the term used to describe repeated harassing or threatening behavior toward another person. A stalker can be a stranger or someone the victim knows including a partner, an ex-partner, or a family member. Laws vary by state, but stalking is generally considered to be any unwanted contact between a stalker and his/her victim that directly or indirectly communicates a threat or places the victim in fear. Anyone can be a victim of stalking. Stalkers can be former intimate partners, strangers, or acquaintances.

Does your ex-partner always seem to be just around the corner when you are going to work, out with friends, or in your neighborhood?

Does someone you know keep making unwanted phone calls to you at home or work?

Do you find signs that your partner has been in or near your home, your car, or your workplace when you weren’t there?

Are you receiving repeated letters, faxes, gifts, and/or emails even though you told the sender to stop sending them?

Has someone tried to get information about you from a third person like a family member, friend, or co-worker?

Many people think that stalking only happens to celebrities or between strangers. Stalking is a crime that can happen to anyone and is common in domestic violence. If these experiences are part of your life, you are not alone and help is available in your community. If you are in Hillsdale County and are a victim of stalking, Domestic Harmony can help you. We understand that stalking can interrupt your life at home, at work, and at school, affecting your relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. Domestic Harmony is here to help you understand the facts about stalking. We know that being stalked can be terrifying. You may feel afraid for your life, that you have no privacy, and that you have nowhere to turn because your stalker seems to always be there.

You are being stalked if someone is:

  • Repeatedly following or spying on you
  • Repeatedly calling your home and/or work
  • Repeatedly sending you unwanted e-mails, letters, faxes
  • Leaving unwanted gifts or items for you to find
  • Vandalizing or damaging your property
  • Threatening you or someone close to you
  • Repeatedly showing up for no legitimate purpose at places where you are
Stalking is Illegal in Michigan and we have one of the strongest anti-stalking laws in the nation.

Stalking is a misdemeanor offense. When individuals are convicted of stalking, they have the following punishment [MCLA 750.411h]:

  • Up to one year imprisonment, or
  • Up to $1,000 in fines, or both.
  • Up to five years probation.

The order of probation may include an order to:

  • stop stalking anyone.
  • stop having any contact with the victim.
  • be evaluated to determine the need for psychological or social counseling (at the stalker's expense).

Aggravated stalking is a felony and involves at least one of the following [MCLA 750.411i]:

One or more threats to kill or physically harm an individual - or a member of an individual's household or family - that causes the individual hearing the threat to fear for his or her safety or the safety of another. The violation of a condition of a pre-trial release or condition of probation or bond for stalking.

When an individual is convicted of aggravated stalking the punishment is:

  • Up to five years imprisonment, or
  • Up to $10,000 in fines, or both.
  • Any term of years probation (including life), but not less than five years probation.



 

What Should I Do If I Am Being Stalked?

If you are being stalked, call our hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 888-439-1454

If you are in immediate danger, you should call 911.


  • Tell the stalker to leave you alone clearly and firmly. Do not negotiate with your stalker.
  • Keep a log of incidents including the date, time, what happened, and the names of any witnesses. Even if you decide not to pursue prosecution, you may change your mind and it will be helpful to have documentation of every incident.
  • If you have a restraining order, make several copies, and carry a copy with you at all times.
  • Save any packages, letters, messages, or gifts from the stalker. They may be important if you decide to report to the police.
  • To keep your address confidential, get a post office box and use it on all correspondence. Put this address on your checks. If you are being sent something from Federal Express or another company that won't mail to P.O. Boxes, change "P.O. Box" to "Apartment" when giving your address.
  • Use an answering machine to screen calls. Save all voicemail messages from the stalker, or record them to a tape recorder and save the tapes.
  • You can have your phone reject calls from anonymous or unknown callers by contacting your local telephone service provider.
  • Acquaint yourself with 24-hour stores and other public, highly populated areas in your neighborhood. If someone is following you, never go home.
  • Inform security at your place of employment that you are being stalked.
  • Inform friends, family, neighbors, and other people you know that you are being stalked so that the stalker cannot get information about you from them.
  • If you have a picture of your stalker, give one to people you know at the places you frequent.

Special Information for Cell Phones

If you are receiving harassing calls on your cell phone, most cell companies will change your phone number for free - just tell them that you are receiving harassing calls. Cingular and AT&T seem to be the most customer-friendly for helping with this problem.

It it vital that you keep a few things in mind regarding cell accounts:

While your cell phone can be your lifeline in times of dealing with abusive persons, they can also be extremely dangerous because of their very nature. When your phone is turned on, it looks for the closest cell tower from which it can receive a signal or an incoming call. If you happen to lose your phone and you call to report it lost or stolen, the customer service rep can use a software tool to look at your phone and see the last location where the phone was registered for signal. If you went to locations in City A, City B, City C, and City D - the rep can tell you what time and from what general area the last call came from. This might help you find where you left your phone, but for anyone who might have access to your account, the information can be used just like a homing device and a stalker can pinpoint your location to within a few blocks!

Generally, someone only needs your name, cell number, and the last four digits of your social security number to access this information, either with a live rep on the phone or by logging into an online account manager! It is absolutely VITAL that you protect yourself if you are being harassed and you have a cell phone! Call your customer service number for your account and protect yourself. Ask to have your number changed, ask to have a password put on your account, and make sure that online access to your account is protected or have your password changed.

If your stalker is someone who you got the account with - meaning their name is also on the account - then you will always be in this danger until you get an account of your own. Even with all of the above precautions, that person can walk into any cell store or customer service location, present their identification, and if they are an account user or their name is on the account, they can STILL get access to your account, change your passwords, and retrieve information about who you are calling and the general location of where you are calling FROM!