January is National Stalking Awareness Month in the United States, but over in Australia we see how legalization has helped one sex worker avoid a bad stalking incident escalating. From Courier Mail:
The Brisbane Magistrates Court was told Geoffrey James Barlow was so smitten with the Molendinar brothel worker he took her on a dinner date, asked her to be his girlfriend and turned up at her workplace carrying life-size pictures of the target of his affection.
The court was told the female sex worker alerted police after Barlow turned up unexpectedly at her home and acted in a manner that she says “scared, disgusted and creeped her out”.
Police are expected to allege Barlow, 31, stalked the prostitute after initially engaging her services at the Gold Coast’s Pentagon Grand brothel on October 10 last year.
It is alleged Barlow instantly became “fixated” with the sex worker and made numerous bookings with her at the brothel between October 13-27.
Unfortunately it is all too common in many places in the world for a person’s participation in the sex trades to be cited as evidence that the victim is “leading him on,” leading many to feel they have no options to protect themselves when they are being stalked by a client.