Trust set up in memory of murdered Harborough district woman continues to raise awareness of stalking

A trust set up in memory of a Harborough district woman is keen to continue raising awareness of stalking and unhealthy relationships by speaking to younger pupils.

The Alice Ruggles Trust was established in 2017 after the murder of Alice - from Tur Langton - following stalking. It exists to raise awareness of stalking, including coercive control and does this through a range of activities including PSHE lessons in schools.

And as part of National Stalking Awareness Week, the charity is launching a new lesson for 11 to 14-year-olds to raise awareness of stalking.

The lesson aims to help Key Stage 3 students identify unacceptable behaviour and when and how it should be reported. It has been released to complement the Key Stage 4 lessons which have been downloaded thousands of times.

Alice’s parents Sue and Clive Ruggles said: “We are delighted by the success of our Key Stage 4 lessons for 14- to 16-year-olds and how well they have been received by teachers and students.

“One comment we have heard consistently, however, is that there is a need to communicate our message to younger students. Our new Key Stage 3 lesson for 11-14-year-olds addresses this and we are confident it will help prevent what happened to Alice happening to others.”

Stalking affects 1.8 million people in the UK and over 220,000 16–19-year-olds each year. It has been described as psychological trauma and, in the worst cases, such as Alice’s, can lead to murder.

Visit alicerugglestrust.org to download the free lessons.