The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has this week launched their report ‘Health Response: Spotting Stalking‘ focussed on how specialist stalking services can work together with the healthcare sector to recognise victims of stalking and ensure they access the support they need – whether they be patients or members of staff themselves.
“1 in 5 women will experience stalking in their lifetime…”
What is Stalking?
Stalking is a crime of psychological terror which disproportionately affects women and girls, with 1 in 5 women and girls and 1 in 11 men experiencing stalking in their lifetimes.
Approximately 1.6 million adults (aged 16 and over) were victims of stalking in the last year in England and Wales.
Although half of the stalking cases coming through the National Stalking Helpline in the year ending March 2024 were not perpetrated by ex intimate partners or family members, stalking is often subsumed under the category of domestic abuse.
Suzy Lamplugh Trust sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England to better understand the services provided to victims of stalking. The results reveal that while previous research shows that 95% of stalking victims report mental health challenges, only 7% of healthcare professionals feel very confident in identifying stalking cases. None of the 41 NHS ICBs who responded could identify services commissioned for stalking victims.
During National Stalking Week, there are calls for more collaboration to stop victims and survivors falling through the cracks.
Formed in 2014, the National Stalking Consortium is a group of organisations working in stalking. It aims to improve support to victims of stalking across the UK. The Consortium is committed to spotting gaps and taking a proactive approach to improving stalking support services across the statutory and voluntary sectors.
The National Stalking Consortium urges the government to translate their commitment to halve VAWG into adequate funding for both the healthcare and specialist stalking sectors, ensuring a coordinated ‘whole health’ response to stalking.
To read the full report visit National Stalking Awareness Week 2025: Health Response: Spotting Stalking
If you are a victim of stalking you can call the FREE stalking helpline on 0808 802 0300.
The Helpline is open:
09:30 – 20:00, Monday and Wednesday
09:30 – 16:00, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
The Helpline is not open on weekends or bank holidays. You can call the 24 hour Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0800 2000 247 or if it is an emergency ALWAYS call 999.