The beginning of the year marks Stalking Action Month, a time in January dedicated to educating the campus community about stalking behaviors and preventing these harmful behaviors. Cal Poly’s Safer aims to characterize stalking and highlight effective communication.
The theme of this year’s Stalking Action Month is “Love, Boundaries,” focusing on how stalking is a violation of boundaries and how everyone deserves to have their boundaries respected.
To create positive action focused on stalking, Safer is hosting multiple informational events including weekly informational booths. In addition, Safer is presenting workshops like the “Other Side of Boundaries” workshop on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. and the “How to Support a Survivor” workshop on Monday, Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. Safer is also offering other educational events such as a Trivia Brunch on Jan. 21, a Craft Circle on Jan. 26 and their second annual Night Relay on Jan. 27.
A main goal of Safer is to continually educate and provide resources to the campus community regarding stalking. According to Cal Poly’s 2020 Campus Survey on Sexual Violence, 18% of those who took the survey reported experiencing stalking behaviors and only 32% of these respondents labeled this behavior as “stalking.” To Safer, this indicates many people in the community do not recognize these behaviors and don’t understand how or when to reach out for support, making this month more than vital.
Safer has been hosting Stalking Action Month since 2016 and is the most recent addition to its quarterly educational programs. Initially called Stalking Awareness Month, it was started by the National Center for Victims of Crime in 2003. In 2021, Safer rebranded the month to Stalking Action Month as a way to move beyond awareness of these present issues and work to create action and prevent stalking.
To learn more about Safer’s Stalking Action Month events, visit https://safer.calpoly.edu/jansam.