St Mary’s to run Free Stalking Awareness Courses for Teachers

St Mary’s University, Twickenham will be offering a free 2-hour online training course for teachers in partnership with the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames and the Alice Ruggles Trust.

The course, How to Identify and Respond to Stalking, Relationship Abuse and Coercive Control, will provide staff with the tools and confidence to recognise stalking, relationship abuse and coercive control.

It will cover how to spot signs and the confidence to intervene and support students and young people. Participants will hear about what stalking is and how it can impact lives by listening to Alice’s story. Following the course, participants will have access to resources to use in class and signposting to professional support services.

The course will be delivered by Associate Professor in Criminology and Sociology at St Mary’s, Dr Maria Mellins. It will be held on the 24^th, 25^th and 30^th of November and the 1^st and 2^nd of December from 4pm – 6pm.

Associate Professor and Trustee for Alice Ruggles Trust, Maria Mellins said, “Stalking poses a significant threat in the UK, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men will be subjected to stalking in their lifetime and young people are at an even greater risk of being stalked. We want to support teachers, and those training to be teachers, to identify signs of stalking and coercive control in their schools and colleges, and crucially, the important steps to follow next.

The Alice Ruggles Trust is committed to tackling stalking and coercive control, especially amongst young people, and has created a number of resources, including their PSHE Association lessons plans that help teachers to deliver lessons on ‘healthy relationships’, ‘how to manage unwanted attention’ and ‘reducing inappropriate behaviours’. We are looking forward to working together to raise awareness of this vital issue.”

Find out more and book your place on the University website.

If you or someone you know is experiencing stalking, you can contact the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300 or PaladinService.co.uk or SuzyLamplugh.org.