Bill Text: NY J01728 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 2024, as Stalking Awareness Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-01-30 - ADOPTED [J01728 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J01728-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 1728

BY: Senator PERSAUD

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        January 2024, as Stalking  Awareness  Month  in  the
        State of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  custom  of this Legislative Body to recognize
official months that are set aside  to  increase  awareness  of  serious
issues  that affect the lives of citizens of New York State; stalking is
an issue that vastly affects  citizens  across  the  State  and  Nation,
causing psychological distress to those that are victims; and

  WHEREAS,  Stalking  involves  a  perpetrator's  use  of a pattern of
harassing or threatening tactics that are both unwanted and  cause  fear
or safety concerns in a victim; and

  WHEREAS, Victims of stalking may experience being followed in public
or  at  their  home;  receiving  unwanted  written,  digital  or  verbal
communication; receiving unwanted gifts or  other  objects  that  arouse
fear  and  intimidation;  being digitally tracked; and being verbally or
physically assaulted by their predator; and

  WHEREAS, More than half of all victims of  stalking  indicated  that
they  were stalked before the age of 25, and nearly 1 in 4 by the age of
18; and

  WHEREAS, In a one-year period in the  United  States,  approximately
13.5  million  people are stalked; the United States Centers for Disease
Control's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey  reported
that  about  1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men have been stalked at some point
in their lives; and

  WHEREAS, A preconceived notion may be that a stranger is typically a
stalker, however, studies show that 40% of  victims  are  stalked  by  a
current  or  former intimate partner, 42% by an acquaintance, and 11% of
stalking victims have been experiencing their terrifying situation for 5
years or more; and

  WHEREAS, Affecting their ability to go about their daily lives, 1 in
8 employed stalking victims lose time from work as  a  result  of  their
victimization  and  more  than  half  lose 5 days of work or more; truly
scared  for  their  lives  in  some  instances,  1  in   7   individuals
experiencing stalking move as a result of their victimization; and

  WHEREAS,  Stalking  victims  suffer  higher rates of mental illness,
such as depression,  anxiety,  insomnia,  than  people  in  the  general
population  and psychological distress often endures long after stalking
may have ceased; and

  WHEREAS, Prevention strategies must be employed at multiple  levels,
from  individual  to  communal  to  societal,  to promote lasting social
change; and

  WHEREAS, Primary prevention education and awareness  campaigns  have
the  potential  to  not only increase identification of stalking and the

appropriate response from helping professionals and the public, but when
used in a primary prevention framework, can also act as  a  catalyst  to
change  social  and  community  norms  to  promote healthy and equitable
behavior; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 2024, as  Stalking
Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of  New
York.