Safety Information and Support for Stalking

Safety Alert: The stalker may be monitoring your computer use. Exit out and consider using a safer computer, such as one in a public library, or come into the St. Cloud State University Women's Center to get information on how to protect yourself from cybersquatting.

Stalking is unpredictable and dangerous. There are no guarantees that what works for one person will work for another. Yet you can take steps to increase your safety. Contact the Women's Center's Gender Violence Prevention Program. Staff can help you devise a personalized safety plan specific to your situation, provide information about local laws, refer you to other services, and help you weigh options such as seeking a protection order.

Call the Women's Center at 320-308-3995 or 320-308-4958.

• If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
• Trust your instincts. Do not downplay the danger. If you feel you are unsafe, you probably are.
• Take threats seriously. Danger is generally higher when the stalker talks about suicide or murder, or when a victim tries to leave or end the relationship.

Develop a safety plan, including changing your routine, arranging a place to stay (you may want to talk with an advocate about alternative housing on campus), and having a friend accompany you. Decide in advance what to do if the stalker shows up at your home, work, school, or somewhere else. Tell people how they can help you.

Do not communicate with the stalker or respond to attempts to contact you. However, monitor messages to look for patterns of escalation.

Stalking is a crime.

• Keep evidence of the stalking. When the stalker follows you or contacts you, write down the time, date, place, and how it made you feel. Keep emails by printing them out, and save phone messages, letters, or notes. Photograph any property damage and any injuries. Ask witnesses to write down what they saw.
• Contact the police (320-251-1200) and/or St. Cloud State University Public Safety (320-308-1200). The stalker may also have broken other laws, such as assault or theft. Contact Public Safety for information on protecting yourself on campus.
• Consider obtaining a protection order that makes it illegal for the stalker to contact you in any way. You may also be able to obtain a no-trespass order for campus in certain situations. The Gender Violence Prevention Program has protection order applications available and can assist with the process. We strongly encourage you not to file a protection order without an advocate's assistance. Provide a copy to St. Cloud State University Public Safety along with a photo of the stalker, if available, and a license plate number.
• Tell family members, friends, roommates, and co-workers about the stalking and seek their support. Inform Public Safety staff at your job or school and ask them to help watch out for your safety.
• File a harassment or discrimination complaint with the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and Title IX Coordinator in the Equity and Affirmative Action Office (320-308-3125) if the stalker is a student, faculty, or staff member at St. Cloud State University. A Women's Center advocate can assist you with this process.