Nasty notes and malicious rumours: One woman's terrifying experience with a stalker

An Irish woman living in the UK describes how routine gestures and neighbourly contact morphed into a sustained and terrifying stalking campaign

'When you’re being stalked you can’t get out of it. You normalise what isn't normal. You go into survival mode and so you do what you have to do to cope.'

As part of her new normal, Julie* doesn’t open her blinds in the mornings. She times precisely when to leave for work, regularly changing her pattern of coming and going. She checks the ground in front of her car tyres for screws before getting in, ready to photograph and bag any evidence. 

Expensive CCTV cameras stud her every wall and window. Mirror film lines her rear conservatory windows. She has stopped sitting outside in her back garden. Sometimes she’ll ring a neighbour to ensure she gets into her home safely in the evenings.