January is Stalking Awareness Month; CAPS Helps Protect Rights

January is Stalking Awareness Month. For many people, the idea of stalking evokes stories of celebrities being hounded by overzealous fans. But the truth is that 75 percent of stalking victims know their stalker. It is imperative that we understand that stalking is linked first and foremost to domestic violence. Like all forms of abuse, stalking is a behavior meant to control and scare an individual.
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According to the Stalking Resource Center, 7.5 million Americans are stalked every year. Sixty-one percent of female victims and 44 percent of male victims of stalking are stalked by a current or former intimate partner. Seventy-six percent of women who were murdered by their intimate partner experienced stalking from the perpetrator before they were killed.

In 2014, OCDV, in conjunction with the NYPD and the Richmond County District Attorney's Office, launched the�Coordinated Approach to Preventing Violence (CAPS)�program in Staten Island. CAPS is a homicide prevention model aimed at better identification of intimate partner violence stalking cases, enhanced stalking arrests and prosecutions, and linking victims to comprehensive services.

In 2013 in Staten Island, three out of four of the precincts in the borough recorded no stalking arrests. Within the first year of the program's launch, there was a 233 percent increase in stalking arrests on Staten Island.
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CAPS expanded to Queens in 2015, and within the first month of the launch, two precincts in the borough recorded the City's first felony stalking arrests that year. After the program was expanded to all precincts in Queens, there was a 177 percent increase in stalking arrests recorded by NYPD compared to the same time period in the prior year.
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Programs like CAPS are actively helping us change the reality around stalking in our city. Awareness and early intervention can save lives. To learn more about the CAPS program, please�watch OCDV Deputy Commissioner Elizabeth Dank's webinar.

To learn more about stalking and National Stalking Awareness Month, please visit the�Stalking Resource Center�and�stalkingawarenessmonth.org. Each and every one of us can make a difference.

Upcoming OCDV Events & Trainings

Elder Abuse
Facilitated by the Weinberg Center
Monday, January 23rd, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.�
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th�Floor
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Economic Empowerment
Facilitated by OCDV Staff
Tuesday, January 24th, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.�
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th�Floor
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Immigrant Eligibility for Public Benefits
Facilitated by OCDV Staff
Tuesday, January 24th, 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.�
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th�Floor
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Cultural Conversations
Facilitated by NYC Anti-Violence Project & Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and Families
Wednesday, January 25th, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.�
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th�Floor
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Family & Matrimonial Law
Facilitated by Sanctuary for Families
Wednesday, January 25th, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.�
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th�Floor
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Immigration Law
Facilitated by NY Legal Assistance Group & Sanctuary for Families
Thursday, January 26th, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th Floor

Housing & Shelter
Facilitated by New Destiny Housing
Tuesday, January 31st, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th Floor

Engaging Trauma Survivors
Facilitated by OCDV Staff
Wednesday, February 1st, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
NYC Family Justice Center, Manhattan
80 Center Street, 5th Floor

To register for any of these workshops, visit https://a002-irm.nyc.gov/EventRegistration/RegForm.aspx?eventGuid=84920b56-244c-4088-a8b3-aca23d011bb8