Welcome to Part 2 of our November 2025 Inspirational Interview with Kathryn Caraway, an author and stalking survivor based in the USA.
On the surface, Kathryn Caraway looks like any other woman. But beneath the surface, she lives a very different life than most. After years of living life as the target of a stalker, the fear of her perpetrator finding her again haunts every decision she makes. She sold her home, moved to a new state, and chose to go into hiding — a necessary separation between her past and present self. Kathryn Caraway is the pseudonym she selected when she chose to speak out about stalking. In 2022, she founded The Unfollow Me Project to raise awareness of the crime of stalking. She has a BA in journalism and an MBA.
In this part of the interview, she talks about changes needed in the judicial system to address the crime of stalking.
All photos are courtesy of Kathryn Caraway.
6. There are anti-stalking laws in many countries but unfortunately, such laws can be fairly weak and even when governments attempt to strengthen them, they are rarely enforced effectively. We can see examples of this failure of enforcement in countries such as the UK and South Korea. What do you think countries can – and should do – to ensure that stalkers face appropriate punishment and stalking victims get justice?
Too often our judicial systems look at charges in a silo. Since stalking is generally defined as a pattern of behaviour, it is essential to take a holistic approach. In my case, I had four individual charges that were not consolidated despite my efforts to advocate for such. Each charge on their own might not have warranted a greater penalty, but the context of all charges combined might have resulted in a different outcome.
7. One of the keys to eradicating VAW is to get men and boys on board efforts to do so. What do you think are the most effective ways of galvanising men and boys to help to end VAW?
I think eradicating efforts must include exposing males of all ages to the emotional impact of violence against women. Too often we fail to recognise how our own words and actions impact those around us, but the harsh reality can often lead to behaviour modifications.
8. Tell us about your plans for the future. What do you have coming up in the next 5 years?
I wish I knew. As a woman who lives each day waiting for a death I won’t see coming, I celebrate mornings over a cup of coffee and end each day in gratitude. After spending so much time learning the art of storytelling, I hope the next chapter in my life will include being an author.
9. How can The Pixel Project’s supporters support authors like yourself who are also survivors working to raise awareness about VAW through memoirs and novels?
Review, review, review. Online reviews help readers discover the book. Every person who picks up a book about VAW is an opportunity to educate and raise awareness, but with an estimated two million books being published each year it feels almost insurmountable to reach the readers that could benefit from this education. People trust reviews and word-of-mouth is — and, in my opinion, always will be — the best form of promotion.
10. In your considered opinion, how can we end VAW for good?
In my opinion, we, as a society, are not armed with the tools to recognise it.
For example, a National Protective Order Registry exists but only law enforcement and our judicial system have access to it. It is a voluntary registry that not every jurisdiction submits to. With the prevalence of meeting people online having skyrocketed over the last ten years, this is a registry that needs to be made public (similar to the Sex Offender Registry) so we can know the person’s history and who we are dealing with.
Violence is historical but if we do not have this history, we cannot make informed decisions as to who we invite into our lives. Since restraining orders are typically granted without the benefit of hearing from the defendant, it is essential that only protective orders that have been decided by a court of law after hearing from both parties be made available.
