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Campus safety officials informed an audience Thursday the age group experiencing the highest rates of stalking victimization are individuals aged 18-24, the general age group of the population located on the University of Wisconsin campus.

UW Police Detective Carol Ann Glassmaker discussed the importance of stalking awareness on campus, saying it can be manifested in a variety of forms.

“It could be somebody you don’t even know, like a person in your class or someone you run into often at Starbucks,” Glassmaker said. “We’ve noticed most frequently stalking in the form of e-mails and phone calls.”

Recently, UWPD has noticed stalkers using Facebook to contact their victims, Glassmaker said.

Glassmaker told the audience females and males are both equal victims of stalking at UW.

She said in cases in which there is a female victim, violence tends to be involved, while cases in which a male is the victim, the forms of stalking tend to be of a more obsessive nature, such as repetitive e-mails or telephone calls.

In 2006, 3.4 million people reported being stalked. Of those 3.4 million, 130,000 victims lost their job because of the stalking.

“Stalking affects your work, and you need to get help and get others involved,” Glassmaker said.

Glassmaker stressed the importance of a log or some other way to track the number of times you receive unwanted conflict to serve as formal proof you are being stalked.

Jennifer Young, a feminist therapist at University Health Services, described the psychological impacts of stalking, which includes post-traumatic stress disorder, increased levels of anxiety and depression.

Because of these impacts, Glassmaker encourages people to get help immediately.

“If you’re not going to come to us, go to someone. You need a safety plan,” Glassmaker said.

The UWPD and organizations on campus like the University Subcommittee on Sexual Assault and Dating/Domestic Violence are taking various measures to achieve awareness among UW students.

“I think that anytime we get people more educated about healthy relationships, no matter what they are, whether they’re boyfriend, girlfriend or just interacting with people around you in respectful ways, it’s important,” said Susan LaFlash, a sexual violence prevention and education program coordinator for the Department of Health and Family Services.

“I think this is a big piece of that education, so we learn to treat each other better,” LaFlash continuned.

She went on to reinforce this point by saying the more educated people are, the better.

The officials spoke as a part of programming on campus to honor National Stalking Awareness Month.