Violence through stalking: How those affected should behave | > – Guide

Status: 05/03/2023 10:24 am

Calls at night, constant stalking: Violence from stalking mostly affects women and is increasingly shifting to the internet. This is how victims of stalking and cyberstalking can protect themselves.

People of all ages, regardless of income, religion, nationality and gender can become victims of stalking. The Federal Criminal Police Office recorded a total of 2021 20,464 cases. According to the aid organization Weisser Ring eV, however, the number of unreported cases is far higher – at 600,000 to 800,000 cases. With a share of over 80 percent, the victims are mostly women. In addition, more than 80 percent of stalkers are mostly male and not unknown: In 75 percent of cases, those affected know their tormentor. It is often the ex-partner, but friends, colleagues, relatives or casual acquaintances can also become stalkers.

Definition of stalking: Criminal offense according to the Criminal Code

Stalking comes from the English and from the field of hunting. “To stalk” means “to stalk”. The Police define stalking as “repeated unlawful pursuit, stalking, penetrating harassment, threatening and terrorizing a person against their will up to physical and psychological violence.” Since 2007, stalking, which is criminally known as “stalking,” has been loud Section 238 of the Criminal Code (StGB) a crime. The new law gave victims the opportunity to report perpetrators.

How stalking often starts

Stalking usually begins harmlessly. Within a gradual process, however, distanced, superficial contacts can become intimate declarations of love. If the victim doesn’t allow himself or doesn’t allow himself to be approached anymore, the infatuation turns into anger. In many cases, stalkers are ex-partners. They often try to keep in touch after the relationship has ended in order to maintain control over the victim’s life. However, stalking has a variety of manifestations and can also take other courses.

How do I know if I’m a victim of stalking?

Those affected are often unsure whether they are really victims of stalking. This is because many individual acts usually take place over a long period of time, so that victims only realize their situation at a late stage. Nevertheless, the police advise those affected to trust their gut feeling at an early stage and to contact the nearest police station or an aid organization such as the Weisser Ring: Anyone who is afraid of reporting their stalker can first get anonymous advice, for example online or by phone on 116 006 (every day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.).

Typical stalking actions according to Weisser Ring are:

• mass sending of messages via SMS, Messenger, e-mail, letters or packages
• frequent phone calls (day and night)
• recurring calls to mailbox and answering machine
• Ambushing the victim (e.g. at home, at work or during leisure time)
• Ordering goods on behalf of the data subject
• unwanted gifts (e.g. flowers constantly in front of the apartment door)
• Threats, insults, property damage
• harassment and coercion

How victims should behave

With the help of a lawyer, those affected can clarify whether their specific case is a criminal offense under Section 238 of the Criminal Code. According to the police crime prevention of the federal states and the federal government, those affected should:

• make it clear to the stalker in the presence of witnesses that they do not want any contact until further notice
• consistently block any attempts at communication
• do not accept any consignments of goods that you have not ordered
• Do not dispose of documents with personal data in household waste
• Inform friends, family and the environment about the situation (public protects)
• Document calls, messages, letters and every contact
• File a complaint (preferably in the presence of a person you trust)
• to dial 110 in the event of an imminent threat to request police protection
• have possible injuries caused by stalkers treated immediately and documented

Cyberstalking: Violence is shifting to the internet

Cyberstalking refers to the harassment and stalking of a person via digital means and channels of communication. For example, stalkers spread defamatory photos, videos and texts about their victims on social networks, mostly remaining anonymous. Punishing such crimes is sometimes difficult because the perpetrators can hardly be identified. In addition, the official responsibilities for criminal offenses on the Internet are often not clarified. It is also almost impossible to delete data if it has been disseminated, shared and commented on by third parties within a short period of time.

There are also other forms of cyberstalking. For example, a stalker can gain access to his victim’s cell phone in order to monitor it digitally. With the help of a “stalkerware” app that the perpetrators install on the victim’s cell phone, or with other apps, chat messages, SMS, locations and other data can be transmitted to their own digital devices and read. Only a short access to the smartphone is required to install such apps. Victims are often unaware that such an app has been installed. An indication of this can be a rapidly draining battery.

This is how victims of cyberstalking can protect themselves

Anyone who fears being spied on via the Internet should carry out a “basic digital cleaning”.

For this purpose, it should be checked which devices in the household are Internet-enabled. Not only typical, digital means of communication such as smartphones, smartwatches, laptops and computers should be considered. Stalkers can also misuse WLAN routers, vacuum cleaner robots, game consoles, smart toys such as talking teddies with Bluetooth function or smart home devices such as digital doorbells. Those affected by cyberstalking should protect themselves as follows:

• reset all internet-enabled devices in the household, including WLAN routers and smart home devices, to the factory settings
• Delete apps including their accounts and only reload necessary apps
• assign individual passwords for each user account in apps, social media, e-mail, etc., choose secure passwords and use 2-factor authentication
• If possible, deny access to location, photos, microphone, etc. in all necessary apps
• Close or tape webcams on laptops, tablets, etc. when not in use
• Secure smartphone with facial recognition, access code or fingerprint
• Encrypt WLAN at least with WPA, ideally with WPA2

Messenger services and social media:

• Delete the profile picture, but at least not make it public, only make it visible to people you trust
• Turn off blue ticks for read messages
• Disable unsolicited addition to groups
• Disable message preview
• do without “WhatsAppWeb”.
• Check the need for your own social media accounts and delete them if necessary
• Make existing social media accounts private instead of public
• about privacy settings Facebook, Instagram & Co. inform

Adjust user behavior:

• exclusively in private mode (incognito mode) surfing
• do not store sensitive data on end devices, but in clouds or on external hard drives

Especially if the stalker is an ex-partner and lived in the household, digital devices and access should be completely reset, renewed or deleted. Sometimes, however, a factory reset does not completely remove spy software, so it may be advisable to buy new digital devices. At the end of all measures, a new e-mail address should also be set up to which only the person concerned has access.

Criticism: Sacrifice in the obligation to bring

In general, publishing content on the Internet is not a criminal offence. Therefore, victims of stalking must first collect a large amount of evidence and records in order to prove that the stalkers have committed a crime. Those affected can refer to the following paragraphs:

• Section 111 of the Criminal Code – Public incitement to crime
• Section 201a of the Criminal Code – Violation of the highly personal area of ​​life by taking pictures
• Section 202a of the Criminal Code – Data spying
• Section 202b of the Criminal Code – Interception of data

Victims of stalking are usually exposed to extreme psychological stress over a long period of time. Only a few of those affected manage to obtain a contact ban in court. The Weisser Ring criticizes the fact that those affected have to collect evidence of the stalking and are therefore “obligated to provide it”.

Die NO STALK App The aid organization is intended to support those affected in collecting evidence and hold more stalkers accountable in the future: By installing the app, all contacts made by the stalker are automatically documented on the smartphone of the person affected.