Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 3 / Thursday, January 4, 2024 / Presidential Documents 447 

Proclamation 10695 of December 29, 2023 

National Stalking Awareness Month, 2024 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

During National Stalking Awareness Month, we honor the strength and 

resilience of the millions of people across this country who have endured 

stalking. We reaffirm our commitment to building a future where everyone 

can live free from fear, threats, and abuse. 

Stalking at its core is an abuse of power. It affects one in three women 

and one in six men in their lifetimes. It can happen in person or online; 

it can be committed by a stranger or someone you know. The fear it sparks 

can be all-consuming, shattering one’s sense of security, safety, and certainty. 

It can threaten loved ones and even force victims to uproot their lives 

and move at a moment’s notice. It is wrong. 

One of my proudest achievements in life was writing and championing 

the landmark Violence Against Women Act some 30 years ago in the United 

States Senate. It began to change our culture, bringing these crimes out 

of the shadows and getting survivors the services and support they needed. 

Over the years, I worked with courageous advocates to keep expanding 

protections and boosting access to healing and justice. In 2022, I was proud 

to sign a reauthorization of the law, increasing investment in prosecution, 

prevention, and support for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, 

and stalking. The new law also creates a Federal civil cause of action 

for the non-consensual distribution of intimate images and expands the 

jurisdiction of Tribal courts to prosecute non-Native American perpetrators 

of stalking, sexual assault, child abuse, and sex trafficking. 

At the same time, we are working to make sure our response keeps pace 

with technology and protects all Americans from online harassment and 

cybercrime. In 2022, I created the White House Task Force to Address 

Online Harassment and Abuse to help stop technology-facilitated genderbased violence. It aims to find new ways to boost accountability, support 

survivors, and further research the threat. Survivors, parents, educators, 

advocates, medical and legal professionals, and others have shared their 

expertise with the task force, which will help inform their work. 

This past May, I also released America’s first-ever National Plan to End 

Gender-Based Violence, which tackles the issue on seven fronts—prevention, 

healing, housing, online safety, the justice system, crisis response, and data. 

Since the beginning of my Administration, the Department of Justice’s Office 

on Violence Against Women has provided grants to law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and community organizations to work together to stop stalking and other gender-based crimes. The Department of Housing and Urban 

Development has provided tens of thousands of emergency housing vouchers 

to help stalking victims and others find a safe place to rebuild their lives. 

Too often, stalking happens in the shadows, hidden from the view of others. 

This month, we shine a harsh light on these crimes to make clear that 

this kind of harassment, threat, or unwanted aggressive attention has no 

place in America. There is so much at stake. Every American deserves 

to feel safe and protected, have a little peace of mind, and live with dignity 

and respect. 


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448 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 3 / Thursday, January 4, 2024 / Presidential Documents 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2024 as 

National Stalking Awareness Month. I call on all Americans to speak out 

against stalking and to support the efforts of advocates, courts, service providers, and law enforcement to help those who are targeted and send the 

message to perpetrators that these crimes will not go unpunished. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 

day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and 

of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 

and forty-eighth. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00061 

Filed 1–3–24; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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