Stalking victim speaks out about her terror
Victims of domestic violence and stalking this week said more needs to be done to tackle the problem.
Ayr’s Ann Moulds, who suffered a two- year stalking ordeal, said the figures of reported abuse may just be the tip of the iceberg.
A total of 1145 stalking charges were brought under the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act in the past year.
Of these, 65 per cent were identified as domestic abuse.
But campaigner Ann, who set up Action Against Stalking a decade ago, said: “Stalking is still a hugely under- reported crime. These figures are focusing largely on ex- partner stalking.
“A recent report suggested 41 per cent of respondents don’t actually know who their stalker is. I don’t think the figures are giving us a true picture of stalking in Scotland.”
Ann was forced to flee her home in Ayrshire more than a decade ago after a terrifying two- year ordeal.
Her stalker sent her letters through the post and terrorised her with silent phone calls.
He later received a community service order, probation and was put on the sex offenders’ register for three years.
She said: “It was relentless. I didn’t know what was going to happen next and when it would end.
“I had this person in my life watching everything I was doing.
“He had an agenda and I didn’t know what his end agenda was really going to be.
“We know a third of stalkers will attack their victims. The majority will never escalate to a physical assault, but if it’s a revengeful stalker they may go out to ruin their victim’s life, destroy their credibility for a job, damage their income or relationships.
“Stalking has still continued during lockdown and it has shifted more from the physical to cyber stalking.
“Stalkers have long used the internet but this has intensified.”
SNP councillor Jim McMahon, who grew up watching his father beat his mother, said he hopes he can help change the statistics by allowing more men to identify that they are acting abusively.
The 59- year- old, from Cumnock, Ayrshire, spoke out last month, almost five decades after his childhood was wrecked by the violent, drunken rages of his dad John, who was jailed for abusing his mum Sadie, who died in March.
He hopes his role as an ambassador for White Ribbon Scotland, a charity for men who campaign to end violence against women, can help turn the tide on abuse.
Jim said: “There will probably be men sitting in the audience of one of my speeches who are perpetrators of domestic violence and they might not appreciate that until I bring home to them what it actually is.
“There are more and more men recognising that domestic violence doesn’t need to be physical. Coercive control can drag on and on.
“With abuse, we can risk following in our fathers’ footsteps if we don’t try to break the chain.”