Did you know that stalking is deemed one of the hardest crimes to define in the UK? According to domestic abuse charity Equation, this is partially due to stalkers taking on a variety of methods to “harass and intimidate their targets”, from “sending flowers or gifts, making unwanted or malicious contact to damaging property and physical or sexual assault”.

This blurred line leaves many women and girls at risk, with the UK and Wales seeing a significant rise in stalking cases last year while approximately 1.5 million people in the UK are affected by stalking behaviour – and last night’s ITV Tonight documentary Louise Minchin: The Truth About Stalking explored just how stalkers impact the lives of their victims and how dangerous they can be.  

The documentary delved deep into raising awareness around stalking and was hosted by former BBC journalist Minchin, who also shared her own stalking ordeal.

Minchin said she received messages from her stalker, Carl Davies, which included threats sent from social media accounts directed towards her and her daughter Mia.

Davies, 44, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison with an indefinite restraining order in December.

“It was very clear from the messages that this person knew exactly where we lived and had stood outside our front door,” she told Tonight on ITV.

“To say I was frightened just doesn’t really touch the surface. You are kind of on this high state of alert all the time.

“You don’t know who they are so you don’t know that that person standing next to you isn’t them.”

Mia said the ordeal left her in “floods of tears” and struggling to sleep throughout the night.

“I’m logged into mum’s Instagram account and suddenly loads of messages started coming. They were all kind of just really offensive, calling us not very nice names and then they got much more graphic,” said Mia.

“It was the kind of actions that he wanted to do against me and mum, which got really personal and they weren’t nice to read at all. I was kind of terrified… shaking.

“I think my heart was beating really fast. I didn’t sleep all night. The entirety of the next day I was in floods of tears.”

In the programme, Minchin also spoke with the National Stalking Helpline, which received over 14,000 calls in 2021 – more than ever before.

“We had more than 50% increase in contact during the pandemic and those rates have continued to rise,” an NSH spokesperson said.

Following the documentary, many took to social media to share their thoughts on The Truth About Stalking and the severity of it in the UK.

“A brave and informative piece on @ITVTonight, @louiseminchin; ‘The truth about stalking’,” commented one user. “I’ve seen a few documentaries on the impact of stalking recently, but the investigation into the number of offences, and severity of them shocked me. A gripping watch.”

Image: ITV / Multistory Media