Governor McCrory Declares January Stalking Awareness Month in North Carolina | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Raleigh, N.C.     Governor Pat McCrory signed a proclamation today declaring January Stalking Awareness Month in North Carolina. He is the first governor in the United States to sign this proclamation and join a national effort to raise awareness of the dangers of stalking.

    "Protecting the safety and security of all of our citizens is a top priority of our administration," Governor McCrory said. "While we have made great progress to address stalking, we need to continue working together in our communities and on the state level to raise awareness and combat this serious issue."

L to R: Stalking Awareness Advocates Dr. Aman Sandhu, Noor Sandhu and Surinder Sandhu, Governor Pat McCrory, Department of Public Safety Secretary Frank Perry, Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison and North Carolina Council for Women Executive Director Gale Wilkins.

    The governor signed the proclamation during a cermeony at the Executive Mansion joined by representatives of the North Carolina Council for Women, public safety officials and other stalking awareness advocates.

    The proclamation adds to the steps Governor McCrory has taken to stop stalking, including expanding the cyberstalking statute to include using a GPS device to track or determine the position and movement of another person. The governor also secured $1.6 million in the latest budget for HERO grants to promote hiring veterans to utilize technology and data analysis to locate and rescue children at risk of exploitation, an issue closely connected to stalking.

• 7.5 million people are stalked every year in the United States.
• The majority of victims are stalked by someone they know.
• About half of all victims of stalking indicated that they were stalked before age 25, with 14 percent of female victims and 16 percent of male victims experiencing stalking between ages 11 and 17.
• Data also shows that many victims of murders or domestic violence were also victims of stalking.

    Read the proclamation here: https://governor.nc.gov/document/stalking-awareness-month.

• Contact: Crystal Feldman
•     govpress@nc.gov