Whereas, Michigan defines stalking as “a ‘willful course of conduct’ involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested”; and,

Whereas, The National Institute of Justice indicates that nearly 1,400,000 people are victims of stalking annually in the United States, 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime, and 77 percent of women and 64 percent of men know their stalker; and,

Whereas, The “Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide” (McFarlane, et al., 1999) study found that 76 percent of femicide and 85 percent of attempted femicide victims had been stalked by their intimate partners in the year prior to their murder; and,

Whereas, Many stalkers are former romantic partners of their victims; and,

Whereas, Stalking has, in recent years, become a crime under the laws of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government; and,

Whereas, Michigan passed some of the country’s strongest stalking laws in 1993, subsequently withstanding constitutional scrutiny and challenge; and,

Whereas, The crime of stalking violates an individual’s privacy, dignity, and security; and,

Whereas, Stalking Awareness Month provides an excellent opportunity for citizens to learn more about stalking and to show support for the numerous organizations and individuals who are providing advocacy efforts, services, and assistance to stalking victims; and now therefore be it,

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim January 2006, as Stalking Awareness Month in Michigan; and I encourage all citizens to join in the effort to end this most serious crime.