Have you ever had an eerie feeling that someone was following or watching you? You whisk around quickly, or secretly peer through the curtains, but realize no one is there. You’re just being paranoid. You keep moving on with your life.
Sadly, stalking is a reality. Not just physical stalking…but also Internet stalking. Stalking is a terrifying crime that affects 3.4 million people in the U.S. annually.
This is a positive blog, and I’m not supposed to be talking about negative things, so why am I talking to you about stalking? If you don’t know Danny Brown (I have yet to meet him in person, but I’m sure he’s just as awesome IRL as he’s been through our online interactions), he created an amazing initiative called 12for12k – a social media led call-to-action with the goal of helping charities reach a wider audience through the power of social media.
Danny and his supporters have raised more than $100,000 so far, and currently, the focus is on supporting Jodi’s Voice. The purpose of the site is to provide an easy access point for information and links relating to Jodi’s Law and other stalking laws.
Jodi’s Law, as described on the website, came about due to this situation:
Current laws do not offer a clear enough definition of stalking nor do they carry a severe enough punishment. Jodi Sanderholm was 19 years old, valedictorian of her high school, dance instructor, and a college student when on January 5, 2007 she disappeared in broad daylight. Within hours Arkansas City, KS police department had her murderer & rapist in custody.
Her murderer was the object of multiple restraining orders placed by other young women and just the day before was accused of following another dance team member for miles until she went to the police department for safety. However, there were no laws in Kansas that would allow the police to arrest him for stalking.
Jodi was murdered by a stalker who had been watching her for 10 years, and she was killed at the ripe age of 19. Do the simple math. That meant this psycho had been stalking her since she was nine. Nine! That’s absolutely terrifying when you let it sink it.
How you can help
On June 23, Jodi’s Voice will be having a massive event in Las Vegas called Fight Stalking in partnership with Sky Combat Ace. Celebrities from the world of entertainment will be going up against each other in aerial combat. Supporters of each celebrity can back their champions with donations and messages of support, and the funds raised will go to Jodi’s Voice.
For 12for12k, they’re looking to achieve the following. Between now and June 23, you can help in these ways:
- If you or someone you know has been the victim of stalking and you wish to share your story, share in the comments (anonymously if you prefer) or on the 12for12k Facebook page.
- Add a 12for12k Twibbon to your Twitter or Facebook profile picture. Details can be found here along with instructions on how to change your picture.
- Write a blog post of your own, and either share your story or link back to this post to highlight what we’re trying to achieve for Jodi’s Voice.
- Make a donation to Jodi’s Voice, a full 501(c)3 registered charity (12for12k is talking with a few organizations to make a matching grant). You can use the ChipIn widget below, and it will go direct to Jodi’s Voice and you will receive a tax receipt (payments can be made via Paypal or credit card) – just click on the green ChipIn button. You can also embed the widget on your own blog by using the Copy option.
- Embed this video on your blog or share the link on Twitter and Facebook, and help raise awareness of some of the statistics around stalking.
And share this with friends and family who may be interested in helping.
Thankfully, I don’t have my own scary story of stalking to share. And I didn’t know of anyone who had been stalked, until I read Gini Dietrich’s post. Gini and I have not met in person yet, but I felt the kind of pain for her that you feel for someone you’ve known all your life. Read her post. And do one of the above listed suggestions to support 12for12k and Jodi’s Voice.
Together, we can move one step closer to making Jodi’s Law a reality. Strengthening the legal definition of stalking while increasing punishment will allow law enforcement agencies everywhere to better protect our citizens.