Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Stalking Victimization is focus of ECCE Speaker Series program

The University of Illinois at Springfield’s Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series will host a program called “Real Fear, Real Crime: Stalking Victimization in the United States” on Wednesday, April 15, at 4 p.m. in the Public Affairs Center, room G, on the UIS campus. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided.

A recent national report showed that 3.4 million people are stalking annually in the United States, and this program will address the realities of stalking and the role everyone can play to stop stalking.

The program’s speaker is Michelle Garcia, director of the Stalking Resource Center in Washington D.C., a non-profit program within the National Center for Victims of Crime working to raise national awareness about stalking. Garcia, a past resident of Champaign-Urbana, has more than fifteen years experience working with victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking in both rural and urban settings and advocating for victims’ rights on a local, state and national level.

The event is sponsored by the ECCE Speakers Series and the UIS Women’s Center. The complete schedule of ECCE speakers and topics for the 2009 Spring Semester is available at http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries. For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or e-mail speakerseries@uis.edu.