It's Valentine Day next Tuesday but Target has a card that simply needs to be taken off the shelves. The card says, in big white letters on a red background,
"Stalker is a harsh word."
Open the car and inside you'll find, in red letters on a white background:
"I prefer valentine."
The message this card sends is sinister and ugly, and all the more so when you consider 3.4 million people over the age of 18 are stalked each year in the US and that 3 in 4 stalking victims are stalked by an acquaintance.
We the undersigned ask that Target remove a Valentine's Day card from its shelves.
The card says, in big white letters on a red background,
"Stalker is a harsh word."
Open the car and inside you'll find, in red letters on a white background:
"I prefer valentine."
The message this card sends is sinister and ugly, and all the more so when you consider some statistics from the National Center For Victims of Crime about stalking:
- 3.4 million people over the age of 18 are stalked each year in the US.
- 3 in 4 stalking victims are stalked by an acquaintance.
- 30% of stalking victims are stalked by either a current or former intimate partner.
- 1 in 4 victims are stalked through some form of technology, such as texting or e-mail.
In a society where violence against women is all too common, and too often underreported, we do not need Valentine's Day cards that make light of stalking. We ask that Target remove this very unlovely Valentine's Day as soon as possible from your shelves.
