In conjunction with National Stalking Awareness, on last week’s Native Bidaské (Spotlight), Editor Levi Rickert welcomed Kayla Woody, a domestic violence prevention specialist at the House of Hope, to discuss the signs of stalking and how to get help.
House of Hope is a program through the Citizen Potawatomi Nation that offers free assistance to all individuals, Native or non-Native, who have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking.
“Stalking doesn't discriminate; it doesn't matter your gender, your economic status, your race, ethnicity, or your sexual orientation,” Woody said. “Stalking can happen to anyone.”
When asked to share national figures on stalking, Woody stated that, “1 in 2 Native women in their lifetime are going to experience those stalking behaviors. Which is quite a bit higher than just the normal national average, where we see nationally 1 in 3 women will experience stalking.”
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“When we see stalking, we think about what we've seen on TV, a person you know kind of lurking in the dark or hiding behind something but that's not always the case. A lot of times the stalker wants you to know they are there,” Woody said.
During the interview, Rickert asked Woody about identifying stalking, how stalkers use technology to their advantage and more.
Watch the episode on our YouTube channel, or view the embedded video below.
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