Stalking Protection Act: What employers need to know
- 16 September 2019
- Employment
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Clarkslegal Managing Partner, Monica Atwal explains the steps organisations may need to take if a member of their staff becomes a victim of stalking.
Stalking is one of the most common forms of abuse, with around one in five women and nearly one in 10 men becoming a victim of stalking after the age of 16. The majority of stalking offences take place in a domestic abuse setting (between 2017-18, 73 per cent of stalking cases related to domestic abuse), but there remains a number of stalking offences that are perpetrated by strangers.
It is this ‘stranger stalking’ that the new Stalking Protection Act 2019 is designed to tackle, and as part of the government’s ongoing plan to address violence against women and girls. It came into force on 15 March 2019.
The Act’s main purpose is to introduce stalking protection orders (SPOs), which can be applied for by the police to prevent the stalker from continuing their abuse of the victim. The SPO can be put in place before any criminal prosecution takes place, allowing for the victims to be protected from an earlier stage.
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Stalking is one of the most common forms of abuse
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