Stalking of DV advocates
For domestic-violence and victim advocates: perpetrators sometimes target the advocate working against them. Many advocates qualify for state ACPs.
Run a free scan. No signup.How this plays out for DV advocates
DV advocates work against perpetrators by definition. Some perpetrators move on after their case. Some don't, and a small subset transition from targeting the survivor to targeting the advocate who helped them get out.
The information path: the advocate's name appears in court filings, on agency letterhead, in shelter intake documents that the perpetrator's counsel may obtain in discovery. Once they have the name, the broker pages return the rest.
What's at stake
Repeated contact, surveillance of the advocate's home and office, and threats that may extend to the advocate's family. In the worst cases, the perpetrator tries to reach the survivor through the advocate.
You can't do this work and stay invisible. Your name is on filings, on letterhead, and on intake forms. The brokers turn that name into your home address.
What to do right now
If you have an active known stalker, document everything and use the protective-order systems you already know how to navigate. Work the patient-stalker playbook. It covers the time-bucketed containment steps from first contact through long-term hardening. Many DV advocates qualify directly for state Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs), the same programs your clients use.
CA advocates qualify for Safe at Home under the program's coverage for stalking and DV survivors and people who work in DV services. Most states have an equivalent. Check your state's Secretary of State or AG office.
Run a free scan to see what brokers have on you. The ACP gives you a substitute address going forward; it doesn't reach back to clean up data brokers already scraped.
How we handle it
Brokers link you to your spouse, your parents, your kids. A perpetrator who can't reach you directly will look at the relatives listed on the same broker page. Closing yours and leaving the family's open just shifts the target. The household runs through the same removal queue, prior addresses included.
For agency-wide coverage of DV staff, reach out.