Stephanie Worsop: Law needs to stop offenders at the beginning, not end

There needs to be tougher laws around stalking. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION:

From a young age I was taught if ever out at night alone, to walk with my keys between my fingers.

From a young age I was taught if I ever had to get into my car at night, to lock the doors immediately and check the backseat before driving away.

From a young age I was taught to avoid wearing revealing activewear when working out in public so to not draw any unwanted attention.

From a young age I was taught if I ever felt like I was being followed, to call somebody I trust and stay in a high-traffic area.

I had to be taught these things because the world is a dangerous place, particularly for women, and the unfortunate reality is there is a real possibility I could be attacked while out minding my own business.

If somebody did attack me, at least I know the law would be on my side. It is illegal to assault somebody and there are not a lot of grey areas around that.

But what's scary is that red-flag behaviour, such as being followed, leered at or stalked, is not so clear cut in the eyes of the law.

This fact was highlighted this week after a Rotorua woman's terrifying experience being stalked by a man while out running in Puarenga Park at 4.30pm.

It was a public place in the middle of the afternoon and a woman felt scared and unsafe because of the actions of a man.

But even if police can get CCTV footage, identify the man and track him down, they say it's unlikely they will be able to charge him because he hasn't actually committed a crime.

Will a stern talking to make him stop? The fact he was following a woman so intently in the first place makes me think not.

It's not the police's fault. They are there to enforce the law.

It's the law that needs to change.

As a self-proclaimed crime junkie, I listen to several true crime podcasts every week.

Case after case that is talked about, you hear the victim was stalked beforehand or that a murderer started out with voyeuristic and stalking behaviour that then escalated to physical violence.

Of course, I don't think every lewd or leery person will end up a murderer but the risk is there and if the law is too ambiguous to stop them at the earliest stage, more people, statistically women, are at risk of being physically attacked.

A 2017 study by the University of Gloucestershire found stalking was present in 94 per cent of the 358 cases of criminal homicides they looked at.

Surveillance activity, including covert watching, was recorded 63 per cent of the time.

Courts worldwide need to recognise stalking as a broader problem and pattern of behaviour.

The law needs to change to protect potential victims, not potential offenders.