Jenna Crowe
Staff Writer
Stalking is no longer limited to reality. A digital stalking seminar, to be given by Jennifer Landhuis on Jan. 31, will discuss stalking in virtual reality and how to stay safe.
This three hour presentation, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Rendezvous ABC Suites, will contain valuable information on how people use everyday technology to stalk others, as well as precautions everyone should take.
“They don’t come across as a stalker at first,” said Stephanie Richardson, the assistant director of the Gender Resource Center. “They come across as charming, and you start to have some sort of a relationship with them.”
She first came across Landhuis at a seminar two months ago, where Landhuis was the keynote speaker. Through the use of facts and stories from her work, Landhuis educated citizens on the dangers of the digital world.
Richardson recalls that members of the audience were stunned and awed by the facts Landhuis presented. One story she mentioned concerned the daughter of a wealthy family that was going to college on the East Coast. With this story, she demonstrates how a friend request on Facebook can spiral out of control.
“When [the student’s family] contacted law enforcement, they weren’t able to do anything because there weren’t many stalking laws,” Richardson said. “When he was finally arrested, they found a bag with handcuffs and journals with her name in it.”
Landhuis is an educator on stalking, domestic violence and sexual assault. She is also a consultant with a stalking resource center in Washington D.C., and the director of social change at the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. Richardson first gained knowledge of digital stalking at a conference in Washington D.C. last year.
“The segment was focused on stalking with technology,” Richardson said. “The focus was on how you don’t have to be in the same state to stalk someone anymore.”
Technology that people take advantage of daily, such as Facebook and GPS, gives stalkers an opportunity to follow people across state lines. One of the reasons Richardson chose to invite Landhuis to give her seminar at ISU is because digital stalking is more prevalent on college campuses. For safety tips, Richardson encourages students to attend Landhuis’ seminar, as well as visit the Stalking Resource Center’s website.
Everyone in the community is encouraged to attend.
“Technology evolves so quickly,” Richardson said. “So it is important for law enforcement, attorneys and the general public to attend this seminar to find out what to look for when investigating stalking cases.”
