You know how a judge might order someone to wear an ankle monitor that will notify police if they leave their home or somewhere?
Well, I got to thinking why don’t stalking victims take some kind of device with them that would notify them if their stalker got too close? Seems like with GPS and other technology, this should be possible.
If I had a restraining order against someone but was still scared they would try to hurt me, I would want to know when they came within the restricted area. If I was at the mall or store and my stalker came too close (innocently or not), my device would let me know and I would have some time to plan an escape, get with a group, or call police. By the time a potential victim sees a stalker it’s often too late to get any help - and the stalker undoubtedly knows this!
Haven’t we all heard stories on the news about a victim being attacked by someone with a restraining order against them? Restraining orders simply aren’t enough against someone who bent on harming someone and doesn’t care about the consequences.
Hopefully someone is working on pulling the technologies together to make this possible. Maybe I should patent this idea…
In the meantime, sometimes we don’t recognize or acknowledge the signs of stalking until it’s too late to head it off. If you’re concerned you or someone you know may be a stalking victim, here’s an assessment or quiz that can help learn the warning signs:
http://socialhealth.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Stalking
Cyberstalking is becoming a more frequent problem, so here’s an assessment to check the warning signs:
http://socialhealth.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Cyberstalking
And since stalking often begins with abusive relationships, here are some other assessments you may find useful:
http://socialhealth.bizcalcs.com
The sooner a potential victim can identify a problem and take steps to correct it, the less likely they’ll actually become a stalking victim.
