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People Are Calling For Stalkers To Have A Register Like Sex Offenders

People Are Calling For Stalkers To Have A Register Like Sex Offenders

The petition comes in the wake of the death of Sarah Everard.

Gregory Robinson

Gregory Robinson

Following increased calls for the UK government to introduce greater safety measures for women, a Change.org petition is calling for a stalkers' register.

Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service founder Laura Richards started the petition which has accumulated over 232,000 signatures.

Laura Richards - who specialises in raising awareness of domestic abuse and coercive control - started the petition (
Pexels)

"We need to act now to save lives by protecting women from serial stalkers and domestic violence perpetrators by extending the Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements to ensure that police, prison and probation services pro-actively identify, track, monitor and manage serial perpetrators," explains Laura in the petition's description.

The Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) is the process through which various agencies including the police, the prison service and probation work together to protect the public by managing the risks posed by violent and sexual offenders living in communities.

Laura adds: "We need a cultural shift which will only be obtained through law change, one where we treat stalking and domestic abuse with the seriousness it deserves."

An amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill is being considered by the House of Lords (
Shutterstock)

The petition references the murder of Kirsty Treloar, who was just 20-years-old when she was stalked and killed.

She was stabbed 29 times by her boyfriend Myles Williams, 19, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2012.

Jane Clough's murder is also mentioned. The A&E nurse was just 26-years-old when her partner Jonathan Vass - who stalked her by monitoring her Facebook account - stabbed her 71 times in the hospital car park where she worked. He was jailed for life in Blackpool in July 2010.

On Monday, figures from Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that reports of stalking and harassment increased by over 31 per cent during lockdown.

An amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill is being considered by the House of Lords. It proposes that serial stalkers are put on the same register as sex offenders and violent offenders, The Guardian reports.

The Sunday Times said the move to make a stalkers' register was seen by ministers as a key practical change that could help information sharing across the police.

It would in theory log the details of men who are convicted of offences including harassment, stalking and coercive control.

Sarah went missing in south London last week (
Met Police)

The calls for a register for stalkers comes in the wake of the suspected murder of Sarah Everard, whose remains were found in Kent woodland after she set off walking home from a friend's house in south London.

The suspect, Wayne Couzens, is currently in custody charged with the murder and kidnap of Sarah.

If you need to report abuse, you can call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit the organisation's website and discreetly fill out a form.

For those in immediate danger, and in need of a 'silent solution', calling 999 and dialling in the number 55 will also alert the authorities you need help.

Featured Image Credit: Pexels

Topics: government, UK News, Life News, News