LIVING IN FEAR
DARK DOCUMENTARY DELVES INTO HARROWING WORLD OF STALKING
PERFECTLY timed, just as we’re all obsessed with Netflix’s stalking thriller Baby Reindeer, this programme delves into the scary world of stalking.
The dark and disturbing Netflix show is based in reality, with creator and star Richard Gadd having been stalked for years.
This ITV documentary begins by telling us that stalking is a national problem.
Nearly two million women are living in fear and have changed the way they live their lives.
With exclusive access to victims of stalkers, the film uncovers how being targeted has ruined lives and how some women under threat are taking on the criminal justice system to hold the culprits to account.
Only five per cent of reports to the police of stalking result in a conviction and women often feel let down by police and the justice system.
One victim says: “Stalking has destroyed the life that I used to have and I’m no longer the person that I used to be. I feel frightened that I’m going to be killed or my family are going to be attacked. It never stops.”
Another says: “When you go out you’re always looking over your shoulder, checking who’s there.
“Even eating in a restaurant, you want your back to a wall, you want to know where the exits are.
“If all else fails, I have a baseball bat. It makes me feel better.”
The documentary also interviews the family of Gracie Spinks, who was murdered by her stalker, and features 999 calls and police interview footage to paint a vivid and harrowing picture.
Stalking has destroyed the life that I used to have.
ITV1, 9pm