What is stalking or harassment?
Stalking or harassment happen when someone repeatedly behaves in a way that makes you feel scared, threatened or distressed. Stalking is a form of harassment where the stalker caries out behaviours which are fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated. The types of behaviours which may up stalking are not prescribed instead the legislation contains examples of how stalking can take place.
Stalking can include:
- Following you
- Contacting you or trying to contact you in any way
- Publishing material about you or pretending to be you online or elsewhere
- Monitoring your internet use, emails or other electronic communications
- Loitering near places you go (whether public or private spaces)
- Interfering with your property
- Watching or spying on you
What is cyberstalking?
Stalking or harassment can happen online and through technology. This is called "cyberstalking". It can happen through social media, email, chat rooms and other online platforms.
Cyberstalking can include:
- Finding your personal information online
- Contacting you online
- Monitoring your online activity
- Identity theft, like signing you up for services or buying things in your name
- Damaging your reputation online
- Electronic sabotage, like sending spam or viruses
- Installing spyware or malware on your devices
- Getting other people online to harass or threaten you