January is Stalking Awareness Month: Understanding Stalking in the Digital Age
January is Stalking Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about a form of abuse that is often hidden, minimized, or misunderstood. Stalking is about control, fear, and ongoing harm. In today’s world, technology has made stalking easier to carry out and harder to escape.
What is Stalking?
Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted behaviour that causes someone to feel afraid, unsafe, or distressed. It can be carried out by a current or former partner, an acquaintance, a coworker, or someone the survivor barely knows.
Stalking behaviours may include:
- Repeated messages, calls, or emails
- Showing up uninvited at home, work, or school
- Monitoring a person’s movements or activities
- Threats, intimidation, or verbal abuse
- Spreading rumours or impersonating someone online
Technology-Facilitated Stalking and Gender-Based Violence
Technology has changed how stalking occurs. Phones, apps, social media, and smart devices are increasingly used as tools for surveillance, harassment, and control, particularly in the context of gender-based violence.
Technology-facilitated stalking may involve:
- Tracking location through apps, GPS, AirTags, or shared accounts
- Monitoring social media activity
- Hacking or guessing passwords
- Accessing email or cloud accounts without permission
- Misusing smart home devices such as cameras, locks, or speakers
- Sending constant messages or contacting someone through multiple accounts
These behaviours often escalate over time and can make survivors feel like there is no safe space.
In Canada, stalking is a crime under the Criminal Code as criminal harassment (Section 264). Tech Safety Canada’s Legal Remedies for Online Harassment, Stalking, Spying, and Threats notes that documenting unwanted contact and stating clearly that it is unwanted can help establish a pattern. Persistent digital communication, especially after a relationship ends, can meet the legal threshold for criminal harassment.
What Survivors Should Know
- Trust your instincts
- Check devices and accounts for unknown access
- Document behaviours and safety plan (screenshots, dates, times)
- Seek support before making major tech changes
Resources
Our updated Tech Safety Toolkit offers practical information on technology-facilitated abuse, spyware, smart homes, smartphone and web safety, family law strategies, and includes a workshop template for service providers.
Additional legal and safety information is available through TechSafety.ca, including resources on tech-facilitated gender-based violence and how to stay safe.
Stalking is a crime. Survivors deserve safety, dignity, and support.
If you or someone you know is experiencing stalking, confidential support is available. In immediate danger, contact emergency services.
