Advice Centre to Help Stalkers Kick Their Habit Opens in Berlin

A walk-in advice center for stalkers opened in the German capital yesterday, offering help to those who wish to stop harassing their victims.

The Stop Stalking organization said the aim of its center in Berlin was to give support to stalkers for whom there has until now been little help on offer.

"We want to be able to reach stalkers in the first place, and to not only make them aware of the legal consequences for them if they continue to stalk, but to also give them the support they need to stop doing it," said Wolf Ortiz-Müller, a psychologist and the head of the center, which is financed by legal fines and donations.

A team of psychotherapists, psychologists and social workers would try to help stalkers kick the habit, he said.

"Stalking is like an addiction - the perpetrators repeatedly increase the dose by sending more text messages or phoning in order to raise the feeling of power they feel so the situation can quickly escalate ... Over a series of 15 sessions we will try to redirect his inner focus on to something else, but we can only work with people who are ready to question their own behavior."

Inspired by similar legislation in Britain and the US, Germany made stalking a criminal offense last year. A conviction for stalking can lead to jail terms of six months to 10 years, if it results in death.

Since the law's introduction the police have been inundated with complaints from victims. Last year there were 1,300 investigations into stalking in Berlin. In 330 of those inquiries it was believed that someone's life was at stake.

In the latest court case, a man is accused of bombarding his ex-girlfriend with text messages and pouring hydrochloric acid over her car's engine and door handles.