Stalking victims given ‘right to know’ perpetrator’s identity

Stalking victims are to be given better protection including the ‘right to know’ the identity of their online stalkers, according to proposals announced by the government.

The changes come after a class action brought by charities and campaign groups, who say in too many cases, police are failing to protect stalking victims.

Around one in seven people aged 16 and over in England and Wales have been a victim of stalking at least once, figures suggest.

The Office for National Statistics says one in five women (20.2%) have experienced stalking at some point since the age of 16. The same can be said for 8.7% of men.

Specialist unit

Channel 4 News was given exclusive access with Jess Phillips – Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls – as she visited a specialist stalking unit at Cheshire Police.

At the unit we spoke to a victim of stalking – who we are calling ‘Sarah’. She told us what impact it had had on her:

“He seemed to turn quite nasty overnight. I was always looking over my shoulder. It literally consumed me.“

“I was frightened. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Planned changes include:

– A review of stalking legislation to see if the law needs changing
– Defining stalking in statutory guidance
– New data will be published by the Home Office

The person leading the Cheshire stalking unit has welcomed this look at current legislation.

Detective Sergeant David Thomason said:

“It’s just not clear. And this is why we see people that might be at imminent risk of being harmed, being told that it’s tit for tat, it’s low level, it’s harassment, it’s a nuisance. That’s not what stalking is. And the law needs to be very clear about what we mean by stalking.”

‘Right to know’ guidance

The guidance on ’right to know’ was inspired by the experience of broadcaster, activist and former Coronation Street actress, Nicola Thorp. She was stalked online but told by police they could not disclose the offender’s identity, even after he was arrested.

The man is serving a 30-month prison sentence with a lifetime restraining order, handed down after his appearance in court, which was the first time Ms Thorp learned his true identity:

“It would have made a huge difference to me at the time. Not just to know the identity of the individual, but to rule out all the other people in my life because they, this anonymous person, became everybody. It was the man that I got into a taxi with, it was the person at the bus stop. Just knowing that name, seeing a photograph of the person who is making your life hell, can really make a difference.”

Funding concerns

The announcement though isn’t backed with any new money, and campaign groups, while broadly welcoming the new measures, say extra funding is still needed.

According to Emma Lingley-Clark, interim chief executive of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust:

“For a lot of the services that we work with and ourselves as well, March 2025 is a big cliff edge in funding and we really need a commitment as soon as possible around what’s going to happen. Otherwise lots of victims will be left without specialist advocacy, support management.”

Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, said: “As a victim of stalking myself, I know just how terrifying it can be to be subject to such controlling behaviour.”

“Today we are announcing six fresh measures which will help people go about their lives with the confidence that the person stalking them is being dealt with robustly and that more protections are in place to help them.”

“These measures are just the first step and we will do more to crack down on this sickening crime which no one deserves to experience.”