Sainsbury’s comes under fire for Valentine’s Day card which makes fun of STALKING
Card pulled from shelves after charities and victims blast supermarket for product which 'romanticises' and 'normalises' the serious crime
SAINSBURY’S have come under fire for selling a Valentine’s card which jokes about STALKING.
The supermarket were forced to pull the product from their shelves after victims and charities complained that it ‘romanticises’ and ‘normalises’ the terrifying crime.
The £1.99 card reads: “From your secret admirer! You can’t make somebody love you. You can only stalk them and hope for the best!”
It was first spotted in Sainbury’s in Brighton by shopper Nicola Brookes, who tweeted: “Trivialising STALKING on Valentines Day cards not ‘cute or loving’!”
Another user added: “I wish most people wouldn’t find stalking funny. Jokes shouldn’t normalise destructive or damaging behaviour”.
Charity Women’s Aid condemned the card, adding that the stalking “devastates the lives of those who experience it.”
Chief Executive Polly Neate told The Sun Online: “We would hope that a responsible retailer would not stock a card like this.
“Stalking is a serious crime; it is a common form of post-separation abuse, and the majority of victims are women who have been in abusive relationships.
“We cannot romanticise stalking; it is rooted in a desire to abuse and control, and it devastates the lives of those who experience it.”
What is stalking?
Stalking is behaviour which is repeated and unwanted by the victim and which causes the victim alarm or distress.
It became a crime in the UK in 2012 when the Government changed the law to cover actions including actions such as following or spying on someone. Cyberstalking – like inundating someone with unwanted messages online – is also covered.
One in five women and one in ten men will be victims of stalking in their lifetime.
The National Stalking Helpline has responded to almost 14,000 calls since it was established in 2010, with over 3,550 so far in 2016.
According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales 4.6 per cent of women and 2.7 per cent of men aged 16 to 59 were victims in 2015 and 16 alone.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson apologised for any offence caused, adding: “It wasn’t our intention to cause any offence and the card will be removed from sale.”
The card was created by company Emotional Rescue, who have been contacted for comment.
The incident comes just after campaigners celebrated the announcement of new plans for a Stalking Protection Order which is being introduced to better protect victims at the earliest possible stage.
The orders will help those targeted by strangers and give them similar protection to domestic abuse victims.
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