Victims given more protection in stalking crackdown

For the first time, police will be empowered to reveal the true identities of online stalkers’ under new ‘Right to Know’ measures.

The Home Secretary will issue statutory guidance to set out the process for disclosure more clearly to the police and provide victims with greater reassurance that they will be quickly told the identity of the individual threatening them online.

The guidance was inspired by the experience of broadcaster and activist Nicola Thorp. She was stalked and abused online in a terrifying ordeal lasting months by a man she did not know, who set up almost 30 social media accounts to send her a constant stream of violent misogynistic messages.

The former Coronation Street actress and Talk TV host has been working with the Government to give victims the right to know who their online stalkers are after police said they could not reveal the identity of the offender even after he was arrested, despite the perpetrator once saying he had got so close to Ms Thorp on a train, he “could smell” her.

The man, who called himself The Grim Reaper in some of his messages to Ms Thorp, is currently serving a 30-month prison sentence with a lifetime restraining order handed down after his appearance in court – the first time Ms Thorp learned his true identity.

In further measures, victims will be given greater protection from offenders by making Stalking Protection Orders more widely available. These orders can ban stalkers from going within a certain distance of their victims or contacting them, and can also compel them to attend a perpetrator programme to address the root causes of their behaviour.

Currently, these can be applied only when an offender is convicted and when a protection order was in place before they went on trial.

Once implemented, under new measures, courts will be given the power to impose restrictions on perpetrators after they have been convicted even if there was no protection order in place before they went on trial, stopping, for example, offenders from contacting their victims from prison.

Courts will also be able to directly apply protection orders on those who have been acquitted if there is enough evidence to suggest that they are still a risk to the victim.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Stalking is a horrendous crime. For far too long, victims of stalking have been subject to debilitating and vicious abuse at the hands of stalkers who use any means necessary to monitor and control their victims’ lives.

“Let us be clear – we will use every tool available to us to give more power to victims and take it away from the hands of their abusers.

“This starts with empowering police to give women the right to know the identity of their online stalkers, strengthening stalking protection orders and ensuring that the police work with all support services to give victims the protection they deserve.”

“Today’s measures are an important part of our cross Government mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.”

Ms Thorp said for too long, stalking victims have been at the mercy not only of their stalker, but a justice system that failed to protect them.

“These new measures will empower victims to regain some much-needed control of their lives and police to bring abusers to justice,” she said.

In a further step, a review of the stalking legislation will determine whether the law could be changed to support police to better identify stalking and arrest offenders.

Further measures include defining stalking in statutory guidance and setting out a framework in law to help support services, including the police, education and health, work together and share intelligence on cases to ensure that proper protections are put in place for every victim of stalking so that no one is failed by “vital information falling through the cracks”.

National standards on stalking perpetrator programmes will also be published to ensure that interventions properly address an offender’s stalking behaviour in a consistent and evidence-based way across England and Wales.

And new data on stalking offences will be published by the Home Office so that evidence can be used to inform policy and policing decisions on this crime.

In addition, the Government has committed to accepting or partially accepting all the recommendations arising from the recent super-complaint on talking made by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and a consortium of other organisations and campaigners to demand better support for victims, and a stronger response from the authorities, in the wake of the sharp rise in stalking offences over recent years.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, said: “As a victim of stalking myself, I know just how terrifying it can be to be subject to such controlling behaviour.

“Today we are announcing six fresh measures which will help people go about their lives with the confidence that the person stalking them is being dealt with robustly and that more protections are in place to help them.

“These measures are just the first step and we will do more to crack down on this sickening crime which no one deserves to experience.”

Emma Lingley-Clark, interim chief executive officer at the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, added: “We welcome the introduction of these new protections for victims of stalking which are so urgently needed.

“Our super-complaint on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium highlighted systemic problems with the police response to stalking and we have long campaigned for improvements for victims throughout the whole criminal justice system.

“We hope these changes will begin a transformation of the way all agencies work together to improve the recognition and management of stalking and better support those affected by this devastating crime.”

Independent Office for Police Conduct Director General Rachel Watson said: “I am really pleased to see action being taken to address the issues identified during our joint investigation into the super-complaint about the police response to stalking.

“Working with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services and the College of Policing, we outlined key changes needed to improve the quality of police investigations and the level of support provided to victims. This included recommended changes to law and guidance and the availability of data to better support the police response.

“Change is happening and we welcome the actions announced, which will help to make a real difference to those affected by this awful crime.

“In the new year, we will be publishing all the responses we have received to our recommendations, which will outline more of the steps being taken across policing to address this important issue.”

Isabelle Younane, head of External Affairs at Women’s Aid, said: “Stalking is a prevalent issue for survivors of domestic abuse, especially in the post-separation period – as we know perpetrators weaponise this behaviour in an attempt to regain the control they have lost.

“Women’s Aid welcomes the announcement to strengthen protection for those who have experienced stalking and are especially pleased that new ‘Right to Know’ statutory guidance will be issued.

“In our statement last week, responding to the piloting of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs), we shared our concerns around protective orders. While, in theory, orders serve to safeguard and protect survivors, inconsistencies to awareness, monitoring, and responding to breaches, means that they can be ineffective.

“Changes to the Stalking Protection Orders will only result in positive change if these underlying issues are addressed, and police forces and other agencies consistently understand and implement these orders, including meaningful consequences for those who breach them.

“It is important to recognise that many of those who experience stalking will not report to the police or seek a criminal response. This may be because they do not feel comfortable doing so, due to fear, or lack of trust that they won’t be victim-blamed or re-traumatised.

“To ensure that those who do not report are given the support they need to heal from this violating experience, it is essential that specialist services are put on a secure financial footing in the upcoming multi-year spending review.

“The nature of domestic abuse means that it does not just end when the relationship does. Instead, post-separation abuse means that survivors continue to face a significant risk of harm for a long time after. A comprehensive approach to dealing with and responding to post-separation abuse as a whole is urgently needed for survivors to be safeguarded.

“While stalking is a prevalent form of post-separation abuse, there are many more which need to be adequately addressed so that survivors can feel empowered to rebuild their lives away from abuse.”