Chennai: With police, friends and parents of murdered techie S. Swathi, pointing fingers at the possibility of a yet-to-be-identified stalker as the prime suspect in the crime, the city is waking up to the seriousness of stalking.
Swathi being a regular in ladies compartment and some of her co-passengers’ revelation about a man, a possible stalker, deepens this suspicion. While many a women have internalised stalking as a day-to-day nuisance in life and learned to move forward, the gruesome murder of Swathi has proved that stalking, a seemingly innocuous act could be dangerous, if not taken seriously.
“I was stalked continuously for months over phone through creepy messages and calls. My name was written inside the lift and walls of the apartment I’m staying”, says a homemaker from Koyambedu on condition of anonymity.
Although it stopped after spreading the word around that she is filing a police complaint, shock, fear and emotional trauma still remains a reality for her and her family.
“Stalking is punishable with three years imprisonment and fine. For repeat offenders, punishment is five years and fine,” says Sudha Ramalingam, an advocate.
“Expose stalker. Raise alarm. Don’t run away from the stalker or hide from him, for, it emboldens the offender. File a complaint ”, she says.
Athira. S, an IT professional, said two young men followed her for months. “They surface the moment I step out of my home, followed me to my office, restaurants, cinema halls, literally they followed me everywhere.Unable to do anything or knowing how to deal with it, I stopped going out. No words can express my trauma. I even thought of committing suicide”, she added.
Although, they were physically harmless, from her narration, it was evident that the incident created a mental upheaval.
Since the complainant’s character will be under scrutiny, there is a stigma around talking about stalking. Society and even family do it. So women tend to hide it.
Continuous stalking takes a toll on the mental and emotional health of a victim. Feeling low, losing confidence and getting into depression are some of the after effects.
In extreme cases, the victim commits suicide, says Hema Malini Bhashyam, a city based psychologist.
“When I went to police station to file a complaint after being stalked for months, police did not take it seriously”, says Sandhya K.P, a student. ”Will they take action only when such heinous murders happen?” she asks.
Even though victims of stalking said it is difficult to convey their emotional trauma, be it to parents or to police, they think if Swathi had filed a police complaint, her life could have been saved.
Women activists opine the silence and stigma around these crimes are the main reasons behind the surge in violence against women.
