[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S464-S465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 24--DESIGNATING JANUARY 2007 AS ``NATIONAL STALKING 
                           AWARENESS MONTH''

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today with my good friend from 
Maine, Senator Collins, to submit a Resolution Marking January as 
National Stalking Awareness Month. I introduce today's measure because 
I want to renew our Nation's resolve to fight stalking and to promote 
public awareness about the newest stalking tool, technology.
  Imagine that you are a young wife--estranged from your husband. A 
court has ordered him to stay away from you, but he shows up everywhere 
you go. You see him while driving on the road, in the parking lot at 
work, at a nearby table in restaurants, and at your friends' homes. 
Although you haven't spoken to him in months, he always knows exactly 
where you are.
  Last year, the Seattle police received such a report from Sherri 
Peak, whose estranged husband seemed to know her every move. Detectives 
believed that Robert Peak was stalking his wife, and they brought 
Sherri's car into the city shop to scan for tracking devices. After 
several hours of futile searching, one officer popped off the dashboard 
cover and spotted a global positioning system (GPS) and a cell phone 
embedded in the car. Then police checked the victim's home computer and 
found spyware that allowed her husband to hack into her e-mail. Sherri 
Peak was indeed being stalked--via technology.
  The Peak case illustrates a disturbing criminal trend and the dark 
side of technology. The devices we use to surf the Internet, e-mail one 
another, download music, and find our way in unfamiliar towns have also 
equipped stalkers with powerful tools. While ``conventional'' stalkers 
follow a victim from home to work or place countless phone calls to 
their homes, technology-empowered stalkers use GPS to track victims and 
computer programs to trace every Web site victims visit and every e-
mail they send or receive. Stalkers can harass or threaten their 
victims (or urge others to do so) via e-mail or Web sites set up to 
harm the victim.
  The potential impact of these tactics is staggering. National 
statistics show that 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked 
during their lifetime. The average duration of stalking is 2 years, and 
more often than not it is accompanied by physical violence. In one 
study, 3 of 4 women murdered by their intimate partners had been 
stalked by that partner before they were killed.
  Although all 50 States and the Federal Government have stalking laws, 
many were drafted before the widespread use of e-mail, the Internet, 
chat rooms, Web sites, social networking sites, GPS, cell phones, and 
tiny hand-

[[Page S465]]

held video and digital cameras. Last year Congress tightened the 
Federal stalking law to take into account these potential stalking 
tools and techniques. Although some States are following suit, I urge 
state legislators to continually assess the power of their stalking 
laws to prohibit and appropriately punish acts of stalking with current 
or even future technology.
  January is National Stalking Awareness Month--the perfect opportunity 
for parents, lawmakers and community leaders to carefully review State 
and local laws on stalking and insist that laws keep pace with 
technology and protect our families. Valuable information on stalking 
can be found at the Stalking Resource Center (www.ncvc.org/src). We are 
indebted to the Center's expertise and leadership on this issue. For 
immediate and confidential assistance, I also urge people to contact 
the National Crime Victim Helpline at 1-800-FYI-CALL.
  I often watch my grandchildren learn with ever more speed to deftly 
manipulate technology, everything from making digital movies, 
downloading music, to surfing the Internet. It is clearly a brave, new 
world. And one that each of us should embrace, learn and celebrate. But 
with new rights, always come new responsibilities. Through vigilance, 
both citizens and officials can combat stalking via technology. Just as 
parents and teens are starting to learn how to protect their privacy 
while on-line, we can all learn how to detect high-tech stalking and 
what to do if it occurs.
  Before closing, I would like to thank Senator Collins for her 
commitment to this issue; it is always a pleasure to work with her.

                               S. Res. 24

       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; and
       Whereas there is a need to enhance the criminal justice 
     system's response to stalking, including through aggressive 
     investigation and prosecution: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate designates January 2007 as ``National 
     Stalking Awareness Month'';
       (2) it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (A) National Stalking Awareness Month provides an 
     opportunity to educate the people of the United States about 
     stalking;
       (B) the people of the United States should applaud the 
     efforts of the many victim service providers, such as 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, nonprofit organizations, 
     and others should recognize the need to increase awareness of 
     stalking and availability of services for stalking victims; 
     and
       (3) the Senate urges national and community organizations, 
     businesses, and the media to promote, through observation of 
     National Stalking Awareness Month, awareness of the crime of 
     stalking.

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