January is National Stalking Awareness Month and I’ve recently accomplished something I'm extremely proud of—a logbook for stalking victims that can quickly record evidence, patterns of offenses perpetrated by their stalkers, and the negative impact the stalker has on their life. The book is also available in Spanish for those who may face systemic barriers to accessing resources. I am working on other translations as well. My hope is the Stalking Incident Logbook can be a tool not only for victims but police, criminal, and civil court officials. The logbook is designed to be large, something I did on purpose so it wouldn’t be easily buried or misplaced either by the victim, the police, or other officials if taken into evidence.
Stalking is challenging to prove and even harder to prosecute. Even so, I encourage victims to notify the police and make a report as the first step, regardless of how much evidence exists. However, it can be a long, discouraging process because many stalking activities are not considered arrestable crimes—until they escalate. Repeated text messages, emails or persistent phone calls, flowers and other gifts, or even showing up at the same locations as victims—these occurrences are considered a nuisance by most officials. If a complaint is lodged, the best you can hope for—as in my case—is an exaggerated sigh and an eye roll.
However discouraging the reporting process may be, it is the beginning of a vital documentation practice essential to prove the habitual crime of stalking. The key to documenting criminal activity and other malicious acts is to record them no matter how insignificant or repetitive they are in nature and soon after the incident occurs. This is one reason why I created the Stalking Incident Logbook. The logbook is a quick, simple tool that makes use of fill-in-the-blanks and checkboxes. Although it may sound quite simple, my graphic artist, Toni Kerr, and I spent many tireless nights, working on the design of the Stalking Incident Logbook to make it as efficient and effectual as possible. In fact, I kept saying to Toni “all this work is worth it if it can help to save just one life.” Toni of course agreed. Because of her dedication and the support and help from others, this logbook became a reality.
While Toni was busy with finalizing the interior design and working on her amazing Gifs, I took the opportunity to contact Michael and Jamie Goguen. The Goguen’s have been a constant and tremendous source of support. As fellow stalking victims, they understand what it is like to deal with crazed, relentless stalkers, and the roadblocks along the rough road to justice. The Goguen’s methodical and meticulous documentation methods brought the indictment of Federal charges upon their stalker. I’m grateful for their continued support and commitment to not only helping me but their dedication to helping countless other victims of stalking as well. I’m also thankful for others too numerous to mention and for their love and continued support of this much-needed resource.
On a final note—although a great tool for stalking victims, please be advised that the Stalking Incidence Logbookis not intended to track domestic violence or in abusive co-habitation environments where it could be discovered by the perpetrator.
The Stalking Incident Logbook is available for sale in English HERE on Amazon or HERE in Spanish.
**For Graphic art services and amazing animated gif's visit Toni Kerr at the following links: Facebook Website or Instagram
Covers by Toni Kerr
