Stalking Awareness Month
Dear Editor: January is Stalking Awareness Month. Scenes from movies such as “Twilight” and “The Notebook” highlight the common portrayal of stalking in the media as romantic and harmless. However, in reality stalking is a serious crime that can cause extreme emotional distress and even become lethal. In fact, one in five stalking cases involve the use of weapons to harm or threaten, and 76% of women who were murdered by an intimate partner were stalked by their killers first (SPARC). These statistics highlight the severity of this crime; stalking should never be taken lightly or passed off as a harmless display of affection.
Stalking is a crime of power and control. Beyond physically following someone, stalking can also include leaving unwanted notes or gifts, showing up at one’s home or workplace uninvited or leaving a sign of one’s presence, monitoring someone via technology, GPS, or mutual acquaintances, and/or sending threatening messages, calls, or emails. The majority of stalking victims are stalked by someone they know; 40% were stalked by a current/former intimate partner, and 42% were stalked by an acquaintance (SPARC). Intimate partner violence is all about one person gaining and maintaining power and control over another person, and stalking can be one way abusers do this.
At some point in their lives, about one in three women and one in six men are stalked. This means that the odds of knowing someone who has experienced stalking are high. As a bystander, there are critical actions you can take to help protect those around you. If someone discloses they are being stalked, or you have reason to believe someone is being stalked, it is critical to validate their experience and avoid minimizing their concerns. Do NOT suggest they ignore or confront their stalker. Everyone deserves to feel safe, including from unwanted attention.
Encourage the individual(s) being stalked to seek help from law enforcement or a victim advocacy organization. Remind them that stalking is a serious crime, and it is important to take it seriously as soon as it begins. Sitkans Against Family Violence is a local resource. Visit our website at safv.org, call 907 747-3370, or text 907 623-7820. For SAFV’s crisis line, call 800 478-6511. For a nationwide resource, contact the National Center for Victims of Crime hotline at 855 484-2846.
Sitkans Against Family Violence
ANWR Drilling
Dear Editor: I wasn’t surprised to see there were zero bids to drill in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge especially given that the current oil market is oversaturated.
The U.S. is the largest worldwide oil producer, and companies aren’t even using their existing fields/leases because the demand just isn’t there. Additionally, costs for drilling are just too high and insurers are unwilling to cover those costs. Drilling no longer pencils out from an investment standpoint. And, two failed lease sales under two different presidents makes it very clear, the Arctic Refuge is no place for oil development.
Additionally, drilling won’t lower the costs at the pump. Prices are determined on the global level not by US production alone. The push to drill the Arctic was never about putting money in the pockets of Americans. The loss of the Arctic Refuge to oil production to potentially save a few pennies at the pump is a price far too great to pay.
The real solution is to invest in clean energy. Renewables are more dependable and it’s where good paying jobs, innovation and stability will be found in a world that is rapidly changing.
Finally, ANWR isn’t just a place. It is home to caribou, polar bears, and millions of migratory birds. It’s a sacred space for Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations. And it’s ground zero for the choices we face: Do we double down again on a broken fossil fuel economy? Or do we move forward?
Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Sitka
