Los Angeles, CA
2010 Director’s Community Leadership Awards
Los Angeles | Erin Andrews |
In 2009, ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews was stalked, videotaped, and victimized while traveling for various nationally televised sporting events. After learning of the videos taken by her stalker, Andrews worked closely with the FBI through the arrest, conviction, and jailing of her stalker. In doing so, Andrews became a public voice for the thousands of victims suffering from stalking. According to a 2009 Bureau of Justice report, more than 3.4 million adults have been victims of stalking. In mid-April 2010, Ms. Andrews participated in a Department of Justice training video, which relayed the best way for prosecutors, agents, and victim witness assistants to work with stalking victims. Later that year, she appeared on Capitol Hill with Senator Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota) and Representatives Loretta Sanchez (California), Virginia Foxx (North Carolina), Scott Murphy (New York), and Leonard Boswell (Iowa), and spoke out in support of tougher anti-stalking laws. She also helped unveil bill H.R. 5662, or the STALKERS Act of 2010, which would help to strengthen anti-stalking laws. As part of her new contract with ESPN, Andrews took on duties as a special contributor on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” On August 5, 2010, in her first story on “Good Morning America,” Andrews interviewed three victims of stalking and chronicled their efforts in dealing with stalkers. Andrews has become one of the leading voices and most public advocates for stronger laws against stalking and video voyeurism in the United States. |