Naval Station Mayport helping victims of stalking

Jacksonville, Fla. — Nearly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men will be stalked in their lifetime, according to the Stalking Prevention Awareness and Resource Center.

January is a time to bring awareness to the crime, and the help available to victims.

Action News Jax has learned Naval Station Mayport has a family advocacy program where enlisted men and women who have been stalked can get help.

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Athena Ives is offering that help. She became somewhat of an expert when she was a victim herself.

“They attacked me on social me on social media,” she said.

Ives said she was stalked on Facebook and by phone for three years by two women, one of which, she used to know and live with.

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“The red flags became so apparent that I had to step back. And as soon as I stepped back, they clung even harder, and then I found out that they were scam artists,” she said.

Ives said she went as far as legally changing her name to get away from the two women but that wasn’t enough. They found her, got a hold of her phone number and began passing it around to strangers.

She said the stalking was scary and hard to stop.

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“They would do it in extremely intelligent ways because they wouldn’t do it in a way that I could prove. It was all phone calls or calling people through Facebook Messenger,” she said.

Today, Ives is the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Advocate Civilian at Naval Station Mayport, helping active-duty sailors get the help they need.

“Get the advice, get the legal help, get out of there safely and know that it’s not your fault,” she said.

Contact the Fleet and Family Support Center at Naval Station Mayport at (904)-270-6600 ext. 1700.

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