Council Member
Posts: 2,188 
Location: in town
Location: in town
April 24th, 2008, 08:01 AM
Berlin offers stalkers a way out
A walk-in advice centre for stalkers has opened in the German capital Berlin - the first of its kind in the country.
Stalking was made a criminal offence in Germany a year ago. More than 1,000 cases were reported in Berlin in 2007.
Five psychotherapists and social workers will dispense free advice to help stalkers kick their habit.
"Stalking is like an addiction - the perpetrators keep increasing the dose," said Wolf Ortiz-Mueller, the psychologist in charge of the centre.
The advice centre's website, www.stop-stalking-berlin.de, says the experts will not give legal advice to those who stalk.
The centre co-operates with the police, but people can seek advice there anonymously.
The aim is to explore what motivates stalking, to encourage positive behaviour and to prevent any recurrence of it, Stop-Stalking says.
"Only the stalker can stop stalking. In that sense, Stop-Stalking also considers itself a way to protect victims of stalking," it says.
Under German law, stalkers can be punished with fines or prison sentences of up to 10 years. The heaviest sentences are for cases which result in death.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7364726.stm
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How is it in Canada? Is stalking a criminal offense and punishable?
This idea of an open Help-Center for stalkers is a great invention!! To be innovative and creative about preventing violence is always to be welcomed.
Maybe next on the list is a center for pedophiles and other sex offenders.
Berlin offers stalkers a way out
A walk-in advice centre for stalkers has opened in the German capital Berlin - the first of its kind in the country.
Stalking was made a criminal offence in Germany a year ago. More than 1,000 cases were reported in Berlin in 2007.
Five psychotherapists and social workers will dispense free advice to help stalkers kick their habit.
"Stalking is like an addiction - the perpetrators keep increasing the dose," said Wolf Ortiz-Mueller, the psychologist in charge of the centre.
The advice centre's website, www.stop-stalking-berlin.de, says the experts will not give legal advice to those who stalk.
The centre co-operates with the police, but people can seek advice there anonymously.
The aim is to explore what motivates stalking, to encourage positive behaviour and to prevent any recurrence of it, Stop-Stalking says.
"Only the stalker can stop stalking. In that sense, Stop-Stalking also considers itself a way to protect victims of stalking," it says.
Under German law, stalkers can be punished with fines or prison sentences of up to 10 years. The heaviest sentences are for cases which result in death.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7364726.stm
---------------------------------------------------------
How is it in Canada? Is stalking a criminal offense and punishable?
This idea of an open Help-Center for stalkers is a great invention!! To be innovative and creative about preventing violence is always to be welcomed.
Maybe next on the list is a center for pedophiles and other sex offenders.
April 24th, 2008, 08:47 AM
The compulsion to follow someone around and have them 'shown out' or 'convinced' of something that you want the world to know is a MAJOR addiction that even the smartest, seemingly least likely people will stoop to. I've seen it on webforums before, I see it happening right now, and I'm sure I'll see it happen again. If it's that easy for people to engage in the habit via the net, where there's a sense of anonymity, I'm sure it's only marginally tougher to engage in it in real life if they think they're being sneaky and unnoticed.
I think this is a great idea. I like the idea that perhaps some of these issues will be normalized, spoken about honestly without judgement, so that people can seek help before their obsessions end in terror or bloodshed.
The compulsion to follow someone around and have them 'shown out' or 'convinced' of something that you want the world to know is a MAJOR addiction that even the smartest, seemingly least likely people will stoop to. I've seen it on webforums before, I see it happening right now, and I'm sure I'll see it happen again. If it's that easy for people to engage in the habit via the net, where there's a sense of anonymity, I'm sure it's only marginally tougher to engage in it in real life if they think they're being sneaky and unnoticed.
I think this is a great idea. I like the idea that perhaps some of these issues will be normalized, spoken about honestly without judgement, so that people can seek help before their obsessions end in terror or bloodshed.
