Published: January 11, 2009 08:34 am      

Seminar planned on stalking awareness

Stalking victims “live in fear.”

“Some can’t even lay down to go to sleep at night because they fear their stalker will break in,” said Janet Fitz, volunteer coordinator for Northwest Domestic Crisis Services (NWDCS).

This fear is justified, Fitz said, noting that if stalking goes unchecked “most of the time it leads to a violent crime, such as murder or rape or beatings.”

However, there are places that victims can turn to for help, she said, noting Northwest Domestic Crisis Services is “one of those agencies that do help them.”

It is with the purpose of letting victims know where they can turn to as well increasing public knowledge about this serious issue that Northwest Domestic Crisis Services is sponsoring a special stalking awareness seminar Wednesday evening at Northwestern State University’s Woodward campus.

The domestic crisis center is sponsoring the seminar now because January is Stalking Awareness Month, Fitz said.

The first thing people need to know about stalking is that it does happen, even in Woodward, she said.

“I don’t think a lot of people do know it happens here,” Fitz said. “A lot think we’re in Northwest Oklahoma and we’re oblivious to these crimes that happen in larger cities.

“They’re wrong. The officer shooting earlier this week shows that.”

After understanding that stalking is a reality, Fitz said people should know that “stalking can happen any time by any person.”

She shared a story from the 1970s where a woman, who visited the same filling station every week, was stalked by a man who worked there. Eventually the man’s obsession became so strong that “he ended up hurting her.”

“It just started as a regular person buying gas, but it turned into a nightmare for her,” Fitz said.

Fitz plans on discussing more about the “Who, When, Where & Why” of stalking during Wednesday’s seminar.

Brandi Kowing, a therapist at Northwest Domestic Crisis Services, is also slated to speak during the seminar.

“She will explain what to do from the beginning of being stalked to hopefully when it ends,” Fitz said.

“We want to bring it to the public so that if they feel like they are in any danger whatsoever, they will report it to the authorities,” she said.

While there was a time that stalking victims might not have found much refuge in the law, Fitz said, “we are seeing law enforcement officers using stalking laws more often now.”

In addition, she said laws have gotten more stringent over the years to allow more protection for victims.

Seminar attendees will be provided with copies of Oklahoma’s current stalking and harassment laws so they can see just how much protection is available, Fitz said.

The stalking awareness seminar will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 118 of the NWOSU Woodward Campus.

For more information about the seminar, contact 256-1215.

“We hope that people really do come out for this,” Fitz said, noting that she hopes to make the seminar an annual event so that this important issue doesn’t go overlooked in the future.

In addition, she hopes that the seminar will help someone find the relief they need from a life of fear.

"If we can save just one person's life, it's all worth it," she said.