Stalking changes need to go further, says victim

Government proposals to tell stalking victims the identity of their abusers do not go far enough, according to a woman who was stalked by her ex-partner.

The Minister for Safeguarding, Jess Phillips, said the proposed statutory guidance would give "peace of mind" to victims.

But Zoe Dronfield, from Coventry, who almost died at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, said it would only be useful if police were given more training.

"It’s all very good giving us legislation that can be used but the police need to understand how to use [it] in the first place," she said.

Ms Dronfield was stabbed in the neck and stamped on by Jason Smith, who in 2015 was jailed for 10 years.

She said officers were not sufficiently trained to recognise she was in danger.

Before the attack, Ms Dronfield said: "He was calling me hundreds of times a day, making threats that he was going to turn up at the house.

"When I contacted the police, they said: ‘Well he hasn’t really done anything yet.'

"They’re not specialists in stalking… In my case, they didn’t understand those behaviours because I was told there was nothing they could do."

Ms Dronfield said telling victims the names of their stalkers would help but any changes needed to be made alongside improving police training.

"I think that takes a bit of power out of the stalker – if you don’t know who it is and what’s going on, that is very unnerving," she added.

"But these aren’t reasonable people and they don’t play by the rules.

"To think that a piece of paper and an order would stop them… Often, domestic homicides happen when they’re on bail conditions so it’s a similar kind of thing."

The change is part of the government's plans give more protection to victims of stalking in England and Wales.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the measures were "an important part of our cross-government mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade".

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