#but like im so sick of people using our trauma as a weapon against us and the way you asked that felt too much like it

[moran-with-a-g]

Tell me, what would you think of someone who respected the Jewish people but genuinely believed that Israel is as bad as their old persecutors now?

That honestly depends on what you mean.

Part of respecting the Jewish people is respecting their right to exist in their homeland, have a country that fits their cultural needs, and knowing that that country's government actions are not a representation of the entire population.

Do they believe Israel's existence as a concept is as bad as Nazi ideology of scientific racism? Do they believe the Israeli government is as bad as Nazi Germany? Do they believe the treatment the IDF ia giving the Palestinian people is as bad as the pogroms the Jewish people went through throughout history?

When you say Israel, are you talking about the country, the government, the people, the military?

When you say as bad as their old persecutors, are you talking about the Nazis? About other people in history?

I have no issues with people who hate the Israeli government, I have no issues with people who hate the actions of the IDF, what I do have issues with is people who say "Israel" without specifying what they mean, and the people who see the need to compare "Israel" with "their old persecutors".

Because you can criticize the government and the military actions as much as your heart desires. I'm not fan of the current government, I'm also very much aware that the IDF is not an innocent force. But when you just say Israel, I would think that actually, you don't really respect Jewish people, because you don't make an effort to seperate the Israeli civilians from the actions of the military and the government.

Because for some reason, people have this obsession of comparing us to the groups who hurt us in the past. Because for some reason, they have this obsession of taking out trauma, our history, and comparing half of our people to those who who hurt us. They have the option of comparing Bibi to Putin, instead they choose Hitler. They treat our past as if it's a lesson we didn't learn, as if we were punished for some great evil we commited and still have yet to change. We're just as bad, if not worse, as the people who burnt away our history, our records and our lineage.

If they properly criticize the government, and the military, and they believe they deserve to be considered between of the worst in human history - while being able to seperate them from the people who live in Israel, the people who believe in Israel's right of existence, and they don't specifically compare them to persecutors of the Jewish people - then I wouldn't consider them antisemitic, and I would love to have a civil discussion with them, and I would probably be able to agree with at least some of what they have to say.

If they can't seperate the concept of Israel into people, government and military, and if they only compare them to persecutors of the Jewish people, while claiming they respect Jewish people - then they never bothered to listen to a Jew when they were told they're being antisemitic.

So you tell me, is that person actually respecting Jewish people, when they don't make the effort to understand what it is they're doing that's antisemitic and why?

[ranpoismyblorbo]

Songs as book characters: A Series

(did I absolutely and totally steal this idea from @wraithnknives ?? Yes. Yes I did. Am I sorry?? No. No I am not (unless of course she has a problem with in which case im very very sorry I'll stop rn-)

Brutal as the Crows

I'm so insecure I think

That I'll die before I drink

And I'm so caught up in the news

Of who likes me and who hates you

All of the crows are insecure about something in their lives for example Wylan is insecure about whether he actually belongs with them or not, Nina is insecure about whether she is betraying her country by her actions, same for Matthias and so on

They are all always on the alert for any news about the ongoings of people in the Barrel because they have to be, because one tiny gap in information could end up taking someone's life.

And I'm so tired that I might

Quit my job start a new life

And they'd all be so disappointed

Cuz who am I if not exploited

These lines just really remind me of Inej because she often thinks about just leaving and letting the Dregs chase her for retribution because she is just so tired of being the Wraith and she actually feels like the Crows (specifically Kaz) just keep her around because she's useful and that's how it's supposed to be anyways so she can't complain.

And I'm so sick of 17

Where's my fucking teenage dream

If someone tells me one more time

"Enjoy your youth" I'm gonna cry

I mean.....do I REALLY need to explain this one?? It's kinda obvious-

And I don't stick up for myself

I'm anxious and nothing can help

These two lines just remind me of Wylan and how he continuously feels like he doesn't belong here and let's be honest he's the softest of the six (in a "hardened criminal" way not a "can't handle a situation" way)

And I wish I'd done this before

And I wish people liked me more

Idk who this is about specifically but idk it just gives me the vibes ok (although the "I wish I'd done this before" part kinda feels like either Wylan finally actively going against his dad or Inej finally using her trauma and what she used to do to cope (disappear into herself) as a weapon)

All I did was try my best

This the kind of thanks I get

Unrelentlessly upset

So........all of them and their entire lives.

They say these are the golden years

But I wish I could disappear

Ego crushes so severe

God, it's brutal out here

The same thing, everyone says that our teen years are the best years or "golden" years of our lives but that wasn't the case for them (and honestly not most people)

"Ego crushes so severe" is an absolute Kaz line everytime his plans deviated or had to be changed quickly in SoC/CK. And the brutal part is again clear.

I feel like no one wants me

And I hate the way I'm percieved

The first line is Jesper because of everything he has done and all the trouble he has got his father into and how he's disappointed in himself.

The second line is Inej because while she is always satisfied when she is anticipated or feared/made preparations for by a rival, she still doesn't like her name in the Barrel, the Wraith and she doesn't like being a killer but has had to be. Also she is disappointed in herself for being satisfied whenever she gets a win in any way as the Wraith because she feels her parents wouldn't love her anymore because of it.

I only have two real friends

And lately I'm a nervous wreck

They all only have true friends in each other and let's be honest they were all absolutely on edge at basically all points of time during the events of the duology (except Jesper, he was only on edge (in a nervous way) once his dad was involved lol)

Cuz I love people I don't like

Helnik anyone??

And I hate every song I write

And I'm not cool and I'm not smart and I can't even parallel park

I have no clue for the first one but the second one is how Wylan feels around them because he feels like he doesn't belong and continuously asks himself what he's doing there

All I did was try my best.......It's brutal out here

It's a repeat

Got a broken ego, broken heart

And God I don't even know where to start

So at the end of SoC/beginning of CK everyone was really sad and angry etc because of Inej's kidnapping and Kaz was absolutely broken hearted and none of them knew where exactly to start planning (I mean ok Kaz DID make a plan but you get my point)

Anyways idk I was listening to this while trying to take a nap and I suddenly got this idea (it WAS in my Six of Crows playlist but I got THIS idea just then) so yea idk I feel good about this lol

[stevesharrlngtons]

120 steve

he’s pampering me, let him be 

not a shot for shot scene (bc u know im not a fan), but may hold slight spoilers for those who haven’t finished st3 yet. but it’s kinda an au? idk, but i hope you enjoy lmao

you were getting sick and fucking tired of coming so close to your death. you were far too young to have seen what you had, experience the trauma that had been dished your way, and have to live forever with the knowledge of interdimensional creatures out for blood.  

and as you sat now in the starcount food court, with blood caked skin, a throbbing headache and the knowledge of possessions, russian spies and more upside down bullshit, you longed deeply for a time when wondering if steve would like your new lip color was your biggest problem. that’s what mattered, not hoping that you would evade monsters and live to see the next day.  

everything just kept happening so fast. in ‘83 it felt like days. in ‘84, weeks. now, you swore you, robin, steve, dustin and erica had been fighting for months, years even. you had to remind yourself continually that it was only friday, and not months in the future. two days ago steve had planned a date for the two of you. nothing fancy, just a movie and burgers at the drive in, but you had been looking forward to it. you had been looking forward to a night off. you were supposed to be swapping spit with your boyfriend in the back of a movie theater, not listening to chief hopper and dustin play rapid catch up on the newest threats.  

you gnawed at your thumb nail, letting your mind go blank and take a rest. you weren’t sure when you’d be privy to another calm moment like this. it needed all the time it could get.

you stayed in your blissfully unaware bubble until you felt a tap on your shoulder. thumb still resting on your lips, you glanced up to see one of the men who had come in with hopper looming over you.

when he saw he caught your attention, he shook his hand at you gently. he held a damp handkerchief and was montioning to your blood covered knees.

“oh, um thank you.” you offered a sweet smile as you gingerly took the handkerchief from the man, who grinned when you took it.

he then turned to the other tag along, muttered in words you could now recognized as russian and looked back to you, smile still intact.

“he says to tell him if you need anything else.” the man informed you.

“uh, alright. tell him thank you?” you breathed an uncomfortable laugh as your eyes darted between the two strange men.

“она говорит спасибо.”

she says thank you.

his grin only widened.

“i don’t think i caught your name, either of you.” you looked between both of them again.

“murray bauman,” he extended his hand which you took, “and this is alexei.”

“(y/n) (y/l/n), it’s a pleasure. though, i wish it weren’t under less threatening circumstances.” you said with a charismatic lit to your voice.

murray relied your words in russian as you shook alexei’s hand, who placed his free hand on the back of your hand clasped in his.

“удово��ьствие все мое.”

the pleasure is mine.

with him still holding you hand, you glanced over to murray, your smile staying put as to not tip alexei off on your slight discomfort.

“he says the pleasure is all his.”  

“quite the charmer.” you demurely dipped your head.

“она сказала, что ты очаровательный.”

she says you’re charming.

“она очаровательная.” alexei replied almost instantly, a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

murray chuckled, “he says you’re the charming one.”

“did he flirt with joyce this much?” you prompted, turning back to rid the blood from your knees.

“that was jim’s prerogative.” murray scoffed, and you laughed.

“well, it is nice to know that i am the least bit alluring in this state. i feel like i’ve been hit by a truck.”

alexei’s eyes were ping ponging between you and murray as you spoke out of his native tongue.

“так?“

so?

“она польщена твоим флиртом.”

she is flattered by your flirting.

alexei didn’t reply, but his bashful look said it all.

while you cleaned, alexei flirted and murray translated, steve stood watching it all from a far. his eyes narrowed as he watched you laugh and reply back to whatever murray had just said. the russian asshole he was with was giving you some looks steve didn’t approve of. this green feeling wasn’t unfamiliar territory for steve, but he didn’t think he’d be experiencing it here and now, of all times.

you were naturally appealing and attractive to others, you exuded it. people were drawn to you, adored and worshipped you when your orbit caught them. you couldn’t turn it off, couldn’t push people away, no matter the situation. but right now, steve wished you could.

“aye, what do you think they’re talkin’ about?” steve elbowed robin and tipped his chin over to where you sat.

robin observed the scene for a moment before speaking.

“if i had to guess? russian doctor dude is trying to butter up your girl. i can tell from here he’s flirting hard core.”

steve didn’t need any more encouragement than that to stalk across the food court toward to three of you. when he arrived, steve joined in on the laughter, his obviously forced and angry.

“wow, what’s so funny over here? didn’t think the end of the world would be a laughing matter.” steve practically berated.

“well, we were actually just making light of this situation. we’ve done this before, baby. y’know if we get to in our heads, we crumble.” you reached up to take steve’s hand in yours hoping it would calm him, but his resolve only hardened.

“yeah, yeah, yeah, cool, cool, cool. so, shitbag soviet over here ain’t bothering you?” steve glared daggers into a very confused alexei.

“oh, goodey. another man in this group incapable of expressing their insecurities in a constructive way.” murray chimed in sarcastically.

“the fuck you just say?” steve took a step forward and puffed out his chest at murray’s comment. sadly, only proving murray’s point further.

you quickly turned around to the two men behind you and kept a death grip on your boyfriend’s hand.  

“murray, darling. alexei,” he perked up at the mention of his name, “can you both go grab me a cup of ice and something to eat? i’m starved.”

“она попросила лед и еду.” murray relayed.

she asked for ice and food.

“женский мальчик ее разозлил?” alexei asked, worried.

did the feminine boy make her angry?

“нет, что-то говорит мне, что она много занимается этим.” murray snorted a laugh before leading alexei off to find what you requested.

no, i have a feeling she deals with this a lot.

“what? what did they say about me?” steve craned his neck to watch them leave.

“sorry, i didn’t become fluent in russian since the last time i saw you.” you replied.

“well, i know it was about me. commie assholes.” he cursed.

you slapped his leg, “hey! what the hell?”

“those commie assholes are helping us figure this shit out. don’t be an a dick.”

“you’re only saying that because he’s kissing your ass.” steve muttered as he flexed his jaw.

“can’t get mad at him for something you love to do too, harrington.” you shot him a smile.

he looked at you and rolled his eyes, why did your smile have to be so cute? could you stop being so cute for five fucking seconds?

“whatever, it’s still annoying. even robin could tell how thick he was laying it on with you.” steve grimaced, coming to sit next to you.

“he’s pamering me, let him be.” you sighed and rested your temple against his shoulder. as you did, steve slung his arm around you.

“i should be pampering you. not that fuckin’ babushka.” steve brought you closer to him, reveling in your closeness and satiating his protective instinct.

somehow after a day of running from russians, being tortured and sweating from pure fear, you still smelled amazing. god, he hated how perfect you were sometimes.

“let him. let’s me conserve my energy for when i pamper you after this is all over.” you lifted your head briefly to press a kiss to his cheek.

“if we get out of this.”

“we will. this is all gonna work out.”

steve wasn’t so sure. there was still so much that could go wrong. the obstacles were rising and viable plans were dwindling. billy was out there with his army of flayed, ready and waiting to kill them all, and their one weapon was weak and acting faulty. but, steve wasn’t going to let himself be cynical. like you said, you had done this before, side by side and won. so what was a third time? what was the saying? third time’s the charm? he could only hope that applied now.

but in case it didn’t, steve memorized this moment with you. curled to his chest, smelling like fresh air and wild flowers.

feedback is greatly appreciated!!

requests are closed 

[the--sad--hatter]

It's ok if you don't want to answer this but I was wondering what you take meds for? I know you have said you have mental health problems and that you take antipsychotics but I wanted to ask why. Im not trying to be rude or nosey, it's just that I look up to you quite a lot and i have problems as well. Finding out you had to take tablets made me feel a bit better about taking my own. I always felt kind of ashamed about having to take antideppresants but not so much now I know you take stuff too.

I don’t mind answering this at all, especially if someone can relate to it. This is probably going to be a hell of a wordy response though, and may be triggering for some people to read, so proceed with caution guys. 

The story of my mental health is a really long one, and goes back quite far. It goes back to when I was a fetus actually. 

My mother was a drug addict, who used while she was pregnant with me (my dad was unaware of this), and as a result I was born with minor ‘defects’. My lungs didn’t form properly, and a part of my stomach tubing is malformed (We’ll come back to that). During labour, I tore the womb on my way out and nearly killed my mother. 

The trauma of that, as well as her own mental health and addiction issues made it hard for her to bond with me. It’s worth noting that my mum was 19 when I was born, but my dad was 32. They were married about a month before my birth and split up three days later. 

They shared custody for the first year of my life until something went down, but I’m not sure what, and my father took full custody. 

He was a good dad in his defence. He loved me, and did anything he could to keep me safe and happy. But when I was 18 months old, he met another woman and eventually married her. 

My stepmother didn’t want me as a part of her family, but put on a good show for my dad and the rest of the world. Behind closed doors though, she physically and mentally tortured me. The stuff she did to me was vile and it left me quite damaged. 

Because of the stomach deformity, I am prone to vomiting. I was also starved on a regular basis by my stepmother, which left me quite malnourished. I was deathly afraid of her, so when I was sick I didn’t tell anyone because I was afraid of being punished for it. Eventually, I was found out, and my stepmother managed to convince people the vomiting was why I was so skinny. I don’t have a fucking clue how it was never mentioned that I have a hiatus hernia and that’s why I was sick, it was in my medical notes, and I found out when I was 13. 

This kind of stuff continued throughout my childhood. My stepsister had a son when I was 9, and she didn’t really want him, so I had to take care of him. My grandfather died and my granny was very ill, so our living room was turned into a bedroom for her. I nursed her, raised a baby (who called me mum the first time he ever spoke) and all the while I was beaten, starved and tortured. I couldn’t handle it and tried to kill myself when I was 11. 

Because of the suicide attempt, I was put into a childrens home. The abuse could never be proved because the only witness was my stepsister, and she had often joined in so she wasn’t inclined to back me up. My dad decided that he wanted to take his wifes side, and not mine. 

Being in care was not an easy thing, and there was other kinds of abuse to be suffered. Eventually, I snapped. I became incredibly violent, to the point where I can’t excuse the things I did. I would snap, and the people I hurt weren’t always the people trying to hurt me. I hurt innocent people. 

As is the norm, at 16 I was tossed out. I lived in hostels for a while until I managed to get an apartment/flat, but it was in a small town quite a way from the city. I was unable to get help for my mental health, and I declined rapidly. 

That was when i started blacking out. Sometimes it would only be for a few minutes, sometimes it would be for longer. The longest was three days, three days I lost. I once came back to myself while holding a knife to my own chest. I often woke up covered in blood, wounded or miles away from my home. 

That was when I got put in a psychiatric ward where I ended up for a year. 

After being released, I moved 600 miles away to be close to my boyfriend, because he loved me. It was an idiotic thing to do of course, and I quickly learned that once I was there. 

Then my dad had a breakdown, and in the process reached out to me. He ended up on the same ward I had been on and it made him realise the depth of his mistakes. He admitted he knew what had happened to me as a child and he felt guilty. I forgave him, because I’ve fucked up enough in my life to not hold it against someone who truly wants forgiveness. 

My dad got better and moved away from my childhood home, and got a divorce. When he found out I was in an abusive relationship, he drove to England and got me and brought me to live with him. 

I live alone now, and it’s been years since all this happened. But the damage is done, and the wounds aren’t bleeding anymore but they are scarred. There’s much more to it, so much more. There’s the years of self-harming, the singular traumatic events, the betrayals, but I’ve told you the bare bones of my story. 

I could tell you all my diagnoses, list all the damn acronyms, but it wouldn’t explain anything. I struggle to say present in the world, and not disassociate. I have severe anxiety, depression, sleeping problems, paranoia... It’s not exactly shocking.  

What I can tell you is this. I saw my first psychiatrist when I was five years old. I have been seeing them since. I have been to every kind of therapy, taken so many different drugs. It doesn’t always help. But I knew a girl, call her Emily. She was a couple of years older than me, and so much worse. The stuff she had been through made my childhood look idyllic. I had to take her to hospital more than once, I had to talk her off the ledge, pin her to the ground to stop her hurting herself when “they” were trying to get her. 

Emily has a husband and a daughter now. She posted photos on Facebook a couple of weeks ago of her trip to London Comic-Con, her little girl dressed up as Belle. Emily got better. Emily fought for it, she made it, she won and she keeps winning. 

This battle I’ve been fighting my whole life, it IS winnable. 

Take your meds anon, and don’t be ashamed of it. We all have our demons, and they aren’t comparable. We all have our struggles, we all have our own battles. Don’t waste time or energy feeling bad for needing to take a pill to help you fight your fight. If you have a vitamin deficiency, you take vitamins, and if your brain doesn’t produce quite enough serotonin, you take an antidepressant. 

Strength, true strength, is in admitting you need help, be if from a therapist, a pill or a friend. There’s not a single person in the history of humanity who didn’t struggle with something at some point. We are not infallible, we are not unbreakable. Our beauty comes from the way we piece ourselves back together. I’m still working on that part, and I can’t wait to see what I’ll be when I’m finished. The excitement for what i can one day be is far more important than any shame I might feel from needing to take some medication to help me get there. 

Like I said, we all have our battles, and in a battle, you need a weapon. Think of the medication like a blade, stabbing at the demons in your head, and by taking the pills, you’re picking up the sword. 

Don’t be ashamed. Be brave, be beautiful and fight. You’ve got this, and I can’t wait to see what you become one day. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[iamebonybones]

THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR STALKING

(*Image from Take Over Art Exhibition, Switzerland by street-artist Jay Caes)

Often a professional, successful woman can be a target for a stalker, especially if they or their work – appears in the public domain.

Stalking is one of the most frequently experienced forms of abuse globally, with statistics showing up to 7.5 million people stalked in the U.S per year - 61% are female victims. That’s 1 in 6 women. 700,000 women in the UK are stalked each year according to data from the Crime Survey of England and Wales although the British Crime Survey estimated 5 million people experience stalking yearly. Nearly one in three women in France have been victims of stalking in their life - one of the highest rates throughout Europe according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.

According to new figures, Cyberstalking is now far more prevalent globally than face to face stalking and harassment, with many victims finding themselves pursued by complete strangers. With social media and other online methods making a stalker's task that much easier, the popularity of such sites means that cyberstalking can be done at the touch of a button. Inexpensive cell phone spy software, now makes it easier than ever for the average person to spy on a mobile phone from any country - rather than waiting at someone's house and following them wherever they go.

It’s all part of the on going issue of violence against women and girls.

There are many misconceptions about what stalking is. Described as ‘a criminal activity consisting of the repeated pursuing and harassing of another person’ - stalking is far from romantic. It’s about fixation and obsession and most of all it’s oppressive aswell as insidious, and can escalate to rape and even murder. 

To add to a long list of female specific problems, a women’s job could also make her more susceptible to stalkers . Yes, there’s a certain breed of stalkers who only seek to silence women. They are not attracted to their victims and don't even know them personally, but harass and ‘police’ women holding high-visibility jobs or positions normally held by men. Bent on ruining their reputations and self-perceptions of women who somehow or in some way challenge the status quo. They have no desire for a relationship with their victims, but yearn for a sense of power and control, sadistically finding pleasure in gathering information about their victim (sometimes fantasising about assaulting them, physically and sexually). But what drives an angry man-child to harass and cyberstalk women? The answer is pretty simple in short, these scumbags are bullies - they desperately need to feel bigger and better than someone else. Often a professional, successful woman can be a target for a stalker, especially if they or their work – appears in the public domain.

TODAY IN TOXIC FRAGILE MASCULINITY ✨

These stalkers and those they persuade to ‘stalk by proxy’ – stand in the way of gender equality.

The celebrity hacking scandal showed that even famous, successful women were victims to cyber abuse by fragile males who used nude photos as a weapon to silence and humiliate women - as if by doing so asserted some sort of power or dominance in the world. According to Stalking Crimes and Victim Protection, males who abuse, stalk and harass are likely motivated by jealousy, envy, insecurity, fragile identities and a desperate need to assert their masculinity (or lack thereof.)

Look Who's Stalking

So who are these creepy cyber-stalkers who seek to silence women? Who are these sick and lonely cowards who abuse the anonymity of the web as their only possibility to molest others? According to recent studies, many stalkers suffer from forms of mental illness including depression, substance abuse, and often Borderline Personality Disorder. However stalkers are not homogenous - they are motivated by different things and that motivator may oscillate over time. Not all stalkers have a mental disorder. However, when people fixate it's clear there are psychological issues of some description. This is why a mental health evaluation by a professional trained in stalking is important.

Women of colour face cyber-stalking and online harassment more than any other group, followed by caucasian women and then men of colour.

So is this a gender issue? Normally the most dangerous cases tend to be. It’s all part of what’s going on with violence against women and girls. What's most disturbing is a serious concern that many women might avoid positions that put them in the public eye, or jobs normally held by men - because they fear being harassed and stalked. These handful of cyber-stalkers, and those they persuade to ‘stalk by proxy’ online – could stand in the way of gender equality.

‘Im not Stalking, I’m just investigating’: Yes these stalkers as a group, have an impressive capacity to use moral licensing to rationalise, minimise and excuse their behaviors. They like to hide behind ‘credibility’ and go to extreme measures to track and attack professional women, by attacking their reputations, then ‘gaslighting’ them with vile smear campaigns.

So is this a race issue? According to Danielle Keats Citron’s book, Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, Women of colour face cyber-stalking and online harassment more than any other group globally, followed by caucasian women and then men of colour. White males are least likely to be harassed online, and when they are, they are largely targeted or attacked for being gay. 

PALADIN: LAURA RICHARDS

(*Laura Richards: Former head of Scotland Yard's Homicide Prevention Unit, FBI adviser & Founder and Director of Paladin, National Stalking Advocacy Service)

So how best to deal with these cyberstalkers? I had countless friends and peers in the industry who had endured years of cyberstalking, harrasment and even death threats, all in silence. I wanted to find out more about this damaging abuse afflicting millions across the globe, so spoke with former head of Scotland Yard's Homicide Prevention Unit, Laura Richards. Founder and Director of Paladin, the world’s first National Stalking Advocacy Service. Laura who seconded to the FBI and trained at the Behavioural Analysis Units in Quantico, is one of the world’s leading Criminal Behavioural Analyst and has trained thousands of police officers, and specialist professionals across the world including Europol, European Homicide Working Group, National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime, New South Wales Police, Australia, South African Police (SAPs), Johannesburg and more.

“It's the double standards and casual sexism that is commonplace, along with abuse and death threats that happens at the click of a button online, when we dare voice our opinion with serious impact - just because we are women.“

Paladin was set up following the highly successful All Party Parliamentary Stalking Law Reform Campaign spearheaded by Laura, which led to stalking becoming a criminal offence in 2012. After a decade of analysing violent crime at New Scotland Yard Laura became the violence adviser to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) With a minimum sentence of 10yrs for cyberstalking, Laura helps to hunt down stalkers, and her organisation Paladin are currently doing wonderful work to build stalking cases, support victims, aswell as working to create a serial stalker register as most stalkers are regular offenders.

What's the best advice you’ve been given?

Believe and trust in yourself - you can do and be anything you want.

What is your proudest achievement in work?

Successfully spearheading two major law reform campaigns on stalking and domestic violence to better protect victims in England and Wales. The stalking law reform campaign was the shortest most successful campaign in Parliament (achieved in 15 months), I was told, until the domestic violence law reform campaign (achieved in 12 months). The domestic violence law whereby coercive control became a crime in 2015 is the first law of it's kind in the world. My hope is that other countries will follow suit.

And, of course, there's Paladin, National Stalking Advocacy Service - the only trauma informed national stalking advocacy service in the world, which has assisted over 2000 victims since it's launch in 2013. Without this service, so many would have suffered in silence. The team are lifelines to many.

What do you most dislike about contemporary culture?

The shit girls and women deal with on a daily basis and feel we have to put up with, and simply shouldn't. It's the double standards and casual sexism that is commonplace and the abuse and death threats that happens at the click of a button online when we dare voice our opinion with serious impact just because we are women. Yet so many people say and do nothing about it.

Not all stalkers have a mental disorder. However, when people fixate it’s clear there are psychological issues of some description.

What's your favourite city?

London - it's my home city and when the sun is shining, simply put, it's hard to beat! Steeped in history and culture, surrounded by beautiful buildings and with a river running through it, the diversity of people, smattering of fabulous and unique bars, restaurants and music - what's not to love

What do you like most about the age we live in?

The ability to travel and explore. I love adventures and experiencing new cultures and with the shrinking world and ability to hop on a plane, why would you not? Next stop... the moon!

If you have been a victim of any form of stalking or would like help, contact Paladin 

Laura Richards: Criminal Behavioural Analyst www.laurarichards.co.uk

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