After dropping police investigation, businesswoman goes to court to resolve authorities’ contempt for her situation
Summary
Seven years ago, a Brazilian businesswoman began receiving anonymous attacks and threats via email, cell phone and social media. She reports that, even after several attempts to ask the police for help, she still does not know who her attacker is. Brazilian legislation currently considers stalking a crime, applying penalties ranging from six months to two years in prison.
The series “Baby Rena”, Netflix’s latest hit, has once again raised discussion on the need for practical and agile measures to curb cyber stalking crimes – stalking, in English. In the series, which tells a true story, a Scottish comedian is stalked and assaulted by a woman for years.
But situations like the one in the series happen everywhere, including Brazil. For seven years, for example, Nair Alice Stamoglou has been subjected to attacks and threats from someone who persecutes her: she still struggles to discover the identity of the criminal and she doesn’t even know if it is a man or a woman.
It all began at the end of March 2017, when the entrepreneur received the first anonymous email with a text full of insults. Nair was called words like “ugly,” “horrible,” “horrible,” among other aggressive terms. Since then the messages have arrived via untraceable numbers, in mobile phone messages or via email, always anonymous.
“The way I feel, the pain in my chest. It’s something difficult to deal with. I cry from the pain of reading everything. Every paragraph feels like a stab. The hatred that the person conveys is palpable,” says the victim Earth you.
The fear became even greater when Nair started receiving physical threats that if she was not careful, she might get run over and die.
“I would leave the house by sending my location to three people. And the person would describe where I came from or where I was going. This fear still lives with me every day.”
To this day, he does not know who committed the attacks. But, just like the main character of “Baby Reindeer”, there was no shortage of attempts to resolve the situation with the police. “There were five trips to the police station, thrown from one to the other, hours of waiting for an explanation,” she says in a series of videos that she published on social media in search of a solution.
“In 2017 I went to the DEIC, but electronic crime was not yet so widespread,” Nair recalls of the first call for help, as soon as the attacks began. “I made the report, they opened an investigation and then closed it.” The following year, another attempt. “In 2018 I opened the complaint at the police station, they gave a little more assistance, but after months they closed it.”
Lack of action
According to the businesswoman, of all the times she has gone to police stations, only once has she felt welcomed, but overall there is “total contempt” for her situation. “Whoever has to defend us, help us, guide us is the first to laugh”, she complains. Only in 2021 did persecution become a crime in Brazil. But without the identity of her stalker, Nair’s struggle becomes even more complicated.
On social media, the businesswoman demands an approach that does not question the victim’s experience. “They point fingers in our faces asking us why it happened, as if I know why I was attacked. This is very complicated. It is very violent in the country (…) No matter how much they say we are protecting women, machismo is still strong ”.
After giving up on solving the riddle only with the help of the police, Nair took the opposite path. “In 2022 I filed an injunction against Microsoft,” he says. The stalking victim is now trying to take legal action to unlock the information so he can access the authors of the messages. The idea is to discover the identity of your attacker through Internet servers.
“I’m very afraid that things will get worse. But I’m willing to face it and even help. It’s a way to give relief to my heart. It’s too painful to reread everything and remember, but everything gets in the way of my life,” he says.
One of the difficult decisions Nair had to make was to leave his Instagram account open in an attempt to obtain further evidence, as he had also recently started receiving some threatening messages on the social network.
“I’ve quit countless times […] If it doesn’t arrive there, it arrives via email or on your phone… So I started keeping it open. To really verify and have more evidence for companies to submit the information we request via preliminary injunction. He is crazy? On a brutal level… But I want to end it,” she explains.
Consequences on mental health and relationships
Greice Potrick, specialist in positive psychology and author of the book A Chave Mestra by Editora Leader through her Editorial Seal Série Mulheres, explains that stalking can have serious consequences for the mental health and well-being of the victim, as well as creating an environment of terror and insecurity. “She (the victim) cannot feel comfortable in her house,” she reflects.
Nair says the persecution affects not just her, but everyone around her. One of her main concerns is for her son, who is aware of the situation. “I talk to him, but I never let him read or see anything.” One of the reasons I didn’t publish anything on the topic was to try to protect it. She says the situation also affected a relationship she had:
“Aggression against women is not only physical. Often psychological aggression is worse, because it blocks you and affects you at all levels of your life: professional, romantic, financial, family, social. In the mirror you start to distrust yourself too yourself. You also distrust your best friend and that changes you.”
Nair Alice, Brazilian victim of persecution
Stalking is a crime
Since April 2021, Brazilian legislation makes it a crime to “persecute someone, repeatedly and by any means, threatening their physical or mental integrity, limiting their freedom of movement or, in any way, invading or disturbing their sphere of freedom or privacy “. this can lead to six months or two years in prison, as well as a fine.
Lawyer Mayra Cardozo, mentor of women and lawyers, gender specialist and partner of Martins Cardozo Advogados Associados, provides safety tips to prevent a similar case from occurring:
- Keep your personal information private by not sharing details about your routine, location, or sensitive information with strangers. It’s also important to adjust your privacy settings on social media, limiting access to your personal information and limiting who can see your posts.
- Also, be on the lookout for suspicious behavior, especially if you feel someone is constantly following or monitoring you. If this happens, document all these events, in the form of a message history or screenshot; If necessary, also make telephone recordings.
- If precautions are not enough, consider filing a complaint at the nearest police station and, in extreme cases, such as stalking involving domestic violence, seek urgent protective measures.
The expert explains that there are three prerequisites for the crime to actually take place: threat to physical or psychological integrity; limitation of their ability to move; and invasion of liberty or privacy. “These requirements do not need to be cumulative,” he assures.
The lawyer also underlines that the sentence for the convicted is from six months to two years in prison, and can reach three years if the victim is a woman. In the case of stalking committed against children, adolescents or the elderly, by two or more people or with the use of weapons, the penalty is increased by 50%.
In cases of stalking, victims are advised to report it to the police, request legal support (protection measures), receive psychological support and seek a safe haven, preferably unknown to the attacker.
“Victims of stalking suffer significant psychological harm, such as anxiety, depression and trauma, which in extreme cases lead people to a life of isolation. Therefore, it is important that good psychological support is offered to mitigate the effects of the crime,” he says . Mayra.
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Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
