In the wake of the murder of schoolgirl Arsema Dawit, just how effective is legislation designed to protect against stalking or harassment?
A man has been charged with the murder of the fifteen year old schoolgirl, Arsema Dawit, who was found stabbed in the lift of her block of flats in central London earlier this week. Her friends and relatives have been saying that her death may have been avoided. They claim she was being stalked by a man who had already attacked and threatened to kill her. They made a complaint, but now accuse the police of reacting too late to save her. Scotland Yard has launched a review into the handling of the case. So how seriously do the police take stalking? Research suggests that approximately 2 million people a year will be harassed. The law covering harassment came into force in 1997. How effective is it? Jenni is joined by Nicola Graham-Kevan - a psychologist and lecturer in interpersonal aggression at the University of Central Lancashire - and by Tracey Morgan who was stalked for ten years and now sits on a working committee with the Association of Chief Police Officers.
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