[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1141-S1142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10--RAISING AWARENESS AND ENCOURAGING 
   PREVENTION OF STALKING BY ESTABLISHING JANUARY 2006 AS ``NATIONAL 
                       STALKING AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Biden) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                            S. Con. Res. 10

       Whereas an estimated 1,006,970 women and 370,990 men are 
     stalked annually in the United States and, in the majority of 
     such cases, the person is stalked by someone who is not a 
     stranger;
       Whereas 81 percent of women who are stalked by an intimate 
     partner are also physically assaulted by that partner, and 76 
     percent of women who are killed by an intimate partner were 
     also stalked by that intimate partner;
       Whereas 26 percent of stalking victims lose time from work 
     as a result of their victimization and 7 percent never return 
     to work;
       Whereas stalking victims are forced to take drastic 
     measures to protect themselves, such as relocating, changing 
     their addresses, changing their identities, changing jobs, 
     and obtaining protection orders;
       Whereas stalking is a crime that cuts across race, culture, 
     gender, age, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, 
     and economic status;
       Whereas stalking is a crime under Federal law and under the 
     laws of all 50 States and the District of Columbia;
       Whereas rapid advancements in technology have made cyber-
     surveillance the new frontier in stalking;
       Whereas there are national organizations, local victim 
     service organizations, prosecutors' offices, and police 
     departments that stand ready to assist stalking victims and 
     who are working diligently to craft competent, thorough, and 
     innovative responses to stalking;
       Whereas there is a need to enhance the criminal justice 
     system's response to stalking and stalking victims, including 
     aggressive investigation and prosecution; and
       Whereas Congress urges the establishment of January, 2006 
     as National Stalking Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That--
       (1) it is the sense of Congress that--
       (A) National Stalking Awareness Month provides an 
     opportunity to educate the people of the United States about 
     stalking;
       (B) all Americans should applaud the efforts of the many 
     victim service providers, police, prosecutors, national and 
     community organizations, and private sector supporters for 
     their efforts in promoting awareness about stalking; and
       (C) policymakers, criminal justice officials, victim 
     service and human service agencies, nonprofits, and others 
     should recognize the need to increase awareness of stalking 
     and availability of services for stalking victims; and
       (2) Congress urges national and community organizations, 
     businesses in the private sector, and the media to promote, 
     through National Stalking Awareness Month, awareness of the 
     crime of stalking.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution 
calling for the establishment of a National Stalking Awareness Month. 
Each year, approximately 1.4 million Americans--over 1 million women 
and about 400,000 men--are stalked. This statistic is truly staggering. 
Despite the prevalence of stalking and its recognition as a crime in 
all 50 States, this crime is often ignored.
  Stalking is an issue that affects 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men 
during their lifetime. It cuts across all lines of race, age, and 
gender. Women and men across the United States have struggled 
emotionally and financially to rebuild their lives after being 
victimized by a stalker.
  With rapidly advancing technology, I fear that stalking will become 
even more common and that the perpetrators will become even harder to 
catch. Increasingly, smaller cameras now allow perpetrators to stalk 
their victims from afar, often without even being detected. Video 
voyeurism is the next frontier in stalking and more must be done to 
combat this problem.
  This resolution applauds the efforts of policymakers, law enforcement 
officers, victim service agencies, and other groups that currently 
promote awareness of stalking. This resolution also

[[Page S1142]]

encourages these groups to examine new and innovative ways to promote 
prevention and prosecution of stalking crimes. By increasing awareness 
and devising practical and effective means to reduce the prevalence of 
this crime, we can help the police, prosecutors, and victims to 
confront this horrible crime.
  Stalking is a tremendous problem, and it is one that we need to do 
more to address. A National Stalking Awareness Month would help to 
educate and increase awareness about stalking. I encourage my 
colleagues to support this resolution. We can--and we should--do more 
to ensure that stalkers are brought to justice and that their victims 
are not forced to live in fear.

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