The recent spate of murders by stalkers forced creator, producer, journalist, curator and writer Smriti Kiran, 47, to put up a post on Instagram, asking people to speak up about stalking instead of normalising it in silence. “I was hoping for a big feature that serves as a stalking 101,” she says.
“Something that details the laws that are in place for stalking. The legal definition of stalking with experiential accounts of how the authorities handled the cases on ground vs the law. Are the forces on ground sensitised and trained to handle these cases? From what I have heard, victim blaming happens. In most cases, the process is the punishment,” she adds.
Know the process
When a friend of Smriti’s decided to take legal recourse against a stalker, the cyber police kept asking her for more evidence.
“Were they waiting for something physical to happen? This man knew where she lived, even though he began by stalking her on social media. We need to look into why people don’t feel comfortable enough to file an FIR. Once an FIR is filed, the police has to follow up,” Smriti says.
Another friend didn’t file a FIR as she didn’t want her and her young daughter’s (the victim) lives to revolve around following up on the case. “Much like sexual harrasement, most women have faced stalking.Priyadarshini Mattoo was my senior at Law Faculty in Delhi University (DU). She was murdered by her stalker. It was crushing to see a young life snuffed out because a boy could not take no for an answer,” Smriti says.
{{/usCountry}}Another friend didn’t file a FIR as she didn’t want her and her young daughter’s (the victim) lives to revolve around following up on the case. “Much like sexual harrasement, most women have faced stalking.Priyadarshini Mattoo was my senior at Law Faculty in Delhi University (DU). She was murdered by her stalker. It was crushing to see a young life snuffed out because a boy could not take no for an answer,” Smriti says.
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“There are multiple aspects to stalking. Mental health is one, the other is deep rooted patriarchy. I am not qualified to talk about mental health. But stalking comes from a space of entitlement and a belief that women, if pushed enough, will say yes. We, as a society, have no concept of consent. All women anyway live with a possibility and fear of violence,” she says.
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From HT Brunch, October 29, 2022
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