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Stalking Awareness Month – Community Engagement Toolkit

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Domestic and Sexual Violence 24-Hour Hotline 703-360-7273; TTY 711

SAFETY ALERT – If you are in danger, call or text 911.

This year marks the 21st annual National Stalking Awareness Month (NSAM), an annual call to action to recognize and respond to the serious crime of stalking.

To build a peaceful and safe Fairfax County, it will take all of us working together. You can start by using this community engagement toolkit (talking points, social media and more) to help spread the word throughout the community.

Social Media Tip: It's more effective to post a message with a graphic.

In Facebook posts, please tag us @FairfaxCountyFamilyServices. This helps people to quickly and conveniently connect with us.

message clouds graphic

January is Stalking Awareness Month

If you're using any of the talking points in Facebook posts, please tag us @FairfaxCountyFamilyServices. This helps people to quickly and conveniently connect with us.

Stalking, a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause them to fear for their safety or to suffer substantial emotional distress, is often misunderstood, minimalized, or ignored.

Stalking victims may not use words like “stalking” or express fear when describing their experiences and interactions. You may hear language along the lines of “my ex won’t leave me alone,” “my coworker is creepy,” or “my neighbor keeps harassing me.”

1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have experienced stalking at some point in their lifetime. Adults ages 18-24 are at the highest risk of being stalked.

Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Stalking can impact a person's mental well-being. Research shows 83% of stalking victims experience significant levels of anxiety, 75% have trouble sleeping, and 48% lost their appetite. A quarter of stalking victims say they have attempted suicide or thought about suicide.

Follow these quick and easy steps to copy a message and post it along with one of the graphics.

Highlight the text.
Right-click and select copy.
Paste the text into your post.

In Facebook posts, please tag us @FairfaxCountyFamilyServices. This helps people to quickly and conveniently connect with us.

Stalking: Know it. Name it. Stop it. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

Stalking is a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear or suffer substantial emotional distress. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

El acheco es un patron de comportamiento dirigido a una personal especifica que haria que una persona razonable temiera por su seguridad, or que sufriera una angustia emocional considerable. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

Though stalking might seem harmless, it isn’t. This is why:

1 in 3 women stalked by an intimate partner were also sexually assaulted by that partner.
1 in 3 stalkers are physically violent.
1 in 3 stalking cases last longer than a year.
Stalking increases the risk of intimate partner homicide by 3 times.

Learn more about the dangers of stalking: https://bit.ly/3VehB76. #NSAM

Follow these quick and easy steps to copy a message and post it along with one of the graphics.

Highlight the text.
Right-click and select copy.
Paste the text into your post.

80% of stalking victims are stalked through technology. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

Stalking isn’t harmless. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

81% of stalking victims know their stalkers. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

Stalking increases the risk of intimate partner homicide by 3 times. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

January is National Stalking Awareness Month https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

Stalking is a crime in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. https://bit.ly/3VehB76 #NSAM

Follow these quick and easy steps to download a file to your computer:

Click on the graphic.
After it opens, right-click on the graphic and select to save the file.

In Facebook posts, please tag us @FairfaxCountyFamilyServices. This helps people to quickly and conveniently connect with us.

Department of Family Services – Domestic and Sexual Violence Services

Department of Family Services Alert:

Department Resources

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Stalking Awareness Month – Community Engagement Toolkit

January is Stalking Awareness Month

Recent Interactions

Ask Fairfax

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Department of Family Services – Domestic and Sexual Violence Services

Department of Family Services Alert:

Department Resources

Related Resources

Stalking Awareness Month – Community Engagement Toolkit

January is Stalking Awareness Month

Talking Points

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Messages – X (formerly Twitter)

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Recent Interactions

Ask Fairfax

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