Protection Against Stalking

• Context:

  • Aimed to make stalking a specific offence as at the time, the existing anti-harassment law didn’t make reference specifically to stalking. 
  • The police’s approach to tackling stalking was inadequate and disorganised due to a lack of policy and investigations were often left to individual officers’ discretion.
  • The PAS set up an independent parliamentary inquiry to change the existing law.
• Media/Methods:

  • Supported by a wide range of organisations and groups
  • Gave the opportunity for victims’ experiences to be shared 
  • Kept campaign in the public eye through press releases to the media 
  • Gained support from all political parties 
• Success:

  PAS gained support from MPs to include an alteration to a proposed law that was going through to Parliament. This became the Protection of Freedoms Act in April 2012 which made stalking a criminal offence.
• Success:

  Success may have varied in terms of location due to differences in laws in different areas.
• Gaining victims’ insight allowed for the inquiry to find out about things such as the intimidation, fear and psychological harm of stalkers as well as the inadequate response of the authorities.
• The Protection Against Stalking campaign is an example of a pressure group. A pressure group is an organisation which tries to influence government policies in the interests of a particular case.