By Vanessa Cort
IT is with mounting alarm that I continue to read reports of women dying at the hands of abusive spouses. What is more concerning is that women who have chosen to end these relationships and move on with their lives are still being targetted and killed by violent former partners.

Like in the Jennifer Lopez movie, ‘Enough’, these men often stalk their victims, sneaking up on them unexpectedly, or learn of their whereabouts and lie in wait.

I remember well one scene from that movie when the victim was advised to take out a restraining order by the police after reporting the stalking. Her frustrated response was to ask the officer if she should throw the order at her stalker when she saw him.

The point she was making is that the restraining order could not protect her from an actual physical encounter with her abuser. She was forced to move several times, and even resorted to using disguises to try to protect herself from a man who persistently followed her, and had the resources to do so.

When in a similar situation with an abusive partner who was also a stalker, I, too, opted to leave Georgetown to get away. I was placed in a shelter for battered women in the Corentyne after seeking assistance from ‘Help and Shelter’, the local organisation established to help domestic violence victims.

While not every abuser is a stalker, women who manage to get out of abusive relationships certainly need to be on their guard. And those who are being stalked should consider relocating, even temporarily, to another part of the country to avoid any encounter with their abuser.

You may question why you should have to feel the constant need to ‘look over your shoulder’, or why you should have to be the one to move away. The short answer is that these actions could save your life.

However, there is no easy option for women who want to get out of a relationship and ensure their safety after leaving an abusive spouse, particularly if they are being stalked, and, in some instances, are not even aware of it.

A research paper on partner stalking by TK Logan, Ph.D gives great insight into the nature of this kind of behaviour, noting that it often begins while the relationship is intact, and escalates after separation.

According to the researcher, “Being stalked while the relationship is intact may make separating practically and physically very difficult. Stalking while separated may hinder the ability to stay separated for a variety of reasons, including safety concerns.”

Partner stalkers were also found to be more threatening towards their victims, more likely to carry out their threats, more inclined to use weapons, and more likely to offend and re-offend more quickly after a court intervention.

Victims often exhibited higher levels of distress and anxiety, particularly where abusers had been coercive and controlling within the relationship, which was based on fear.

When children are involved, the problem is compounded, as they may be used as “tools, targets, or allies in the stalking”. In addition, having children in common with a stalker means the likelihood of interaction is greater, and makes changing routines or location more difficult.

Victims may also be threatened with reduced custody of children, kidnapping or actual harm to their offspring. They are also generally disconnected from friends and family, and have limited social movement.

The issue of partner stalking is, therefore, very complex, and studies on how this may be tackled are limited, but reveal that even law enforcement officers are unclear about what to do when cases are reported, with few ever reaching the stage of prosecution.

Protection from Abuse Security Services, in the US states that, “Published statistics and studies strongly correlate domestic violence and stalking with future violence, including death.”

Women are warned that stalking should not be confused with common jealousy, because it can turn dangerous without warning. They are also advised to keep a record of stalking incidents in a “stalking log”, which should contain such details as the date and time of the incident; the location and description of what occurred; and the name, address and phone number of any witnesses. Each incident should also be reported to the police, and the name and badge number of the officer taking the report should be noted.

And while restraining orders alone cannot prevent potential attacks, they have been shown to act as a deterrent, particularly when used along with other measures aimed at ensuring victim safety.

However, none of this will be effective unless victims heed professional advice, and take the necessary action to safeguard their lives. For, as a study by the US National Institutes of Health tells us, “Intimate partner violence has been deemed one of the most pressing public health concerns affecting women of all ethnic, racial and socioeconomic background.”