Assembly Resolution No. 899
BY: M. of A. Woerner
MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
January 2026, 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, Research shows that 80% of stalking victims report being
stalked with technology and those victims are just as concerned for
their safety as victims stalked in person; 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 2026, 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.
