Only 11 cases of stalking recorded in 2015, blame it on social stigma, say activists

However, despite the spate of cases, the state police had registered only 11 cases of stalking across Tamil Nadu in 2015. In Chennai alone, there had been five cases of kidnap of women, executed mainly to force the victim to marry the stalker. 

“It has been a disturbing trend. Men who stalk women are not ready to take ‘no’ for an answer and often turn violent against women. We may have several cases of victims being harmed by the stalker in various ways but many of these cases do not reach the police,” a senior police official attached to the state police told DTNext. 

Officials also admit that many cases, that reach the police stations are ‘settled’ out of court. “We still live in a patriarchal society and would like to blame the girls for everything. This attitude has to change and we need to have more counsellors at districts-level from whom these young people can seek professional help when faced with such an issue,” Sudha Ramalingam, social activist told this newspaper.

She believes that most complainants prefer to settle the issue ‘out of court’ because of the present system where the prosecution and trial drag on for several years. “The procedure itself becomes a punishment to both the accused and the complainant. That’s why several cases either do not reach the police or the ones that reach are ‘settled’ out of court,” she said. 

She said police should take such complaints more seriously and stop victimising the women. “We need to educate the women to be independent and equip themselves to handle issues more effectively. The woman who was killed in Thoothukudi on August 31 allegedly by a stalker had already preferred a complaint but the police did not act upon it,” she added. 

Advocate Dr V Suresh, General Secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties called for a nationwide system plan to fight the issue of stalking. “The increasing cases of stalking and crimes of passion need to be addressed. The state should have a separate wing to handle gender issues. They should also rope in NGOs and specialists working in the area to address the issue effectively,” Suresh added. He said emotional immaturity of today’s generation was also a contributing factor in increased cases of stalking.