Florida Senate - 2013                            (NP)    SR 1898
       
       
       
       By Senator Simmons
       
       
       
       
       10-02269A-13                                          20131898__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution designating January 2014 as “Stalking
    3         Awareness Month” in the State of Florida.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, 6.6 million people in the United States are
    6  stalked each year, and
    7         WHEREAS, one in six women and one in nineteen men in the
    8  United States have experienced stalking victimization during
    9  their lifetimes, and
   10         WHEREAS, the majority of stalking victims are stalked by
   11  someone they know, and 66 percent of female victims and 41
   12  percent of male victims are stalked by a current or former
   13  intimate partner, and
   14         WHEREAS, 11 percent of victims reported being stalked for 5
   15  years or more, and 66 percent of victims are stalked at least
   16  once per week, and
   17         WHEREAS, 76 percent of women who are killed by an intimate
   18  partner experienced stalking, and
   19         WHEREAS, one in seven stalking victims changes residence as
   20  a result of his or her victimization, and
   21         WHEREAS, one in eight employed victims of stalking misses
   22  work because of his or her victimization, and more than half
   23  miss five days of work or more, and
   24         WHEREAS, according to a National Violence Against Women
   25  survey, slightly more than half of female stalking victims
   26  reported the stalking to police, and
   27         WHEREAS, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s 2011
   28  Annual Uniform Crime Report reflected a 65.1 percent increase in
   29  simple stalking in the state, and
   30         WHEREAS, stalking is a known precursor to domestic and
   31  dating violence homicide, and the Florida Department of Law
   32  Enforcement’s 2012 Semi-Annual Uniform Crime Report reflected a
   33  21 percent increase in domestic violence homicides in the state,
   34  and
   35         WHEREAS, January has been designated “National Stalking
   36  Awareness Month” in the United States, NOW, THEREFORE,
   37  
   38  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   39  
   40         That January 2014 is designated as “Stalking Awareness
   41  Month” in the State of Florida, providing an opportunity to
   42  educate the public about the dangers of stalking behavior and to
   43  raise awareness about protection laws and the resources
   44  available to stalking victims.