Presidential Document2022-00169
National Stalking Awareness Month, 2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 6, 2022
Signed
December 30, 2021
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 4 (Thursday, January 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 4 (Thursday, January 6, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 873-874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00169]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 4 / Thursday, January 6, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 873]]
Proclamation 10333 of December 30, 2021
National Stalking Awareness Month, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
All people deserve to feel safe and protected--whether
in their home, at work or school, online, or in any
other public or private spaces. During National
Stalking Awareness Month, we support all those who are
threatened and harmed by the pervasive crime of
stalking, recognize those who raise awareness and
advocate for survivors, and recommit to eradicating
stalking nationwide.
Stalkers employ multiple tactics to instill fear,
intimidate, surveil, and exert control over the people
they target. Studies show that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 17
men have been subjected to stalking in their lifetime,
the majority of whom were threatened by someone they
know--often a current or former intimate partner.
Survivors often suffer physical, psychological, and
social harms, such as higher than average rates of
depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Stalking also can
take a serious economic toll, as those who are stalked
may have to uproot their lives at their own expense to
evade their stalkers, or take unpaid time off from work
in order to protect themselves and their families.
In recent years, the most prevalent form of stalking
crimes has involved the use of smartphones, computers,
and other devices. With schools, workplaces, and social
interactions relying on virtual platforms, the risk of
stalking has grown considerably. As technology
continues to advance, we must ensure that all people--
especially women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals who
are at greatest risk--can engage in online spaces
freely and safely. We must also seek accountability for
individuals or systems that perpetrate or enable
stalking.
Given the disproportionate impact of stalking and other
forms of digital abuse on women and girls, my
Administration's National Strategy on Gender Equity and
Equality includes a commitment to launch a task force
to address online harassment and abuse. This task force
will be specifically focused on technology-facilitated,
gender-based violence and will be charged with
developing concrete recommendations to improve
prevention, response, and protection efforts
domestically and worldwide.
The task force will seek input from survivors,
advocates, law enforcement professionals, civil and
human rights groups, technology platforms, and other
experts to ensure that those with expertise and lived
experiences are able to directly inform these
recommendations. My Administration has also committed
to developing the first-ever National Action Plan to
End Gender-Based Violence, which will further our
efforts to prevent and respond to stalking and other
forms of gender-based violence.
This effort has been one of the central causes of my
career. To address these abuses of power--stalking,
domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual
assault--I wrote and championed the Violence Against
Women Act nearly three decades ago to begin to change
our culture and ensure that survivors of these
appalling crimes receive the services and support they
need. Through the years, I have worked to reauthorize
the Act several times--each time expanding its
protections. Now, I am calling on the Congress to once
again reauthorize and modernize this landmark
legislation
[[Page 874]]
with enhanced provisions to expand the way our country
responds to and prevents stalking and other forms of
gender-based violence.
Stalking operates in the shadows and is fueled by
silence and inaction. As we begin this new year, let us
commit to shining a brighter light on this insidious
crime, to broadening our support for those affected,
and to ensuring that all people can live in a world
free from violence and fear.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2022
as National Stalking Awareness Month. I call on all
Americans to speak out against stalking and to support
the efforts of advocates, courts, service providers,
and law enforcement to help those who are targeted and
send the message to perpetrators that this crime will
not go unpunished.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of December, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-00169
Filed 1-5-22; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 6, 2022.
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