Patricia Campbell
Gender Activism Plan
Dr. Strong
Stalking
An important issue that we’ve discussed throughout the course is stalking.
The definition of stalking is the willful, malicious, and repeated following and
harassing of another person that threatens his or her safety (Mechanic 1). Stalking is
viewed as a serious issue, but not on an extreme level that it should be. In some
cases the process of ceasing stalking is too long, for it is too late once actions are
made. This issue is important for change because we can save lives by opening our
ears and realizing that someone could be endanger. Stalking has been around for a
very long time and is affected by the entire world. Some cases have been more
severe and public than others, but overall it is an issue that a lot of people go
through. According to Mindy Mechanic’s National Violence Against Women’s Survey,
1 out of 12 women and 1 out of 45 men have been stalked in their lifetime. Actions
that are being done would be acknowledging the fact that stalking happens around
us all the time. Unfortunately, stalking begins long before you actually realize what’s
happening. Something as simple as a secret admirer sending letters could be
innocent in the beginning as it can prosper into a bigger problem, stalking.
The activist progress that should take place is that if there are any complaints
about a stalker, a warning should be given immediately. If the stalker continues to disrupt
the privacy of the individual after the verbal and certified warning, higher consequences
such as a holding in jail, rehab programs for stalking, or boot camp. This matter should
be taken this far because there have been incidents where innocent people’s lives have
been taken due to a small problem that turned into a huge problem. For example, on July
18, 1989, Schaeffer was fatally shot by Robert John Bardo, an obsessed fan who had been
stalking her for three years. Bardo traveled to Los Angeles a third time and, after locating
Schaeffer's apartment, roamed the neighborhood asking passersby if Schaeffer actually
lived there. Certain that the address was correct, he approached the porch and rang the
doorbell. Bardo showed Schaeffer a letter and autograph she had previously sent him and,
after a short conversation, Schaeffer asked Bardo not to come back to her home again. He
then went to a local diner nearby and had breakfast. An hour later, Bardo returned to
Schaeffer's apartment for a second time. Schaeffer answered the door again with "a cold
look on her face," Bardo later said. Bardo pulled out a gun from a brown paper bag and
shot her in the chest at point-blank range in the doorway of her apartment building.
Schaeffer screamed and collapsed in her doorway as Bardo fled. A neighbor phoned
paramedics, who arrived to transport her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Schaeffer was
pronounced dead thirty minutes after her arrival. The next day, Bardo was arrested after
motorists reported a man running through traffic on Interstate 10. He immediately
confessed to the murder (“Rebecca Schaeffer” 1). This is a clear example of not taking
actions ahead of time. A life is gone as the mentally ill Bardo is in jail living. In the three
years that he had stalked her prior, he could have gotten help and been better off.
I believe the more that the issue is in the open the better it would be under control.
If we have these people that are stalkers in programs, we somewhat have control of the
situation. We can ask why they are this way and get in the minds of stalkers and began to
prepare prevention plans for people in the future. This change, in my opinion, would have
to involve everyone. Funding stalking programs and boot camps will benefit the world
because I believe that there would be less stalking. I believe that programs helping an
individual mentally may cure the problem. Also sending stalkers to a boot camp could
physically help prevent harm to innocent people. I don’t think that stalking is the worst
thing that the world has to worry about, but it would cause less crime in our world.
The overall plan that I would attempt is to tackle the problem when it first begins.
If someone feels uncomfortable with the certain actions coming from another individual,
there should be a verbal and certified warning coming from higher authority. If there are
problems again with that same individual, he/she should be immediately put in a program
or boot camp, depending on how serious the stalking may be. We are all responsible for
this type of activism because things happen around us all the time. Groups that I would
be build my plan off would start first in neighborhood communities.
Work Cited
"Rebecca Schaeffer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 May
2015.
Mechanic, Mindy. "Fact Sheet on Stalking." Fact Sheet on Stalking.
National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center, n.d.
Web. 13 May 2015.