An issue has arisen where I work with a patron (effectively) starting to stalk me. It is a horrible thing to have to deal with - it deprives you of your security of person, makes you feel uncomfortable in a place you should feel safe, and eats at you every minute of the day. In my case, I work until midnight at a campus library and this patron has been hanging around watching me at nights, cornering me at points in the building and (in some sick attention-whore desperation) talking to me for excessively long periods of time.
What is unsettling is that this man isn't a student - he's at least in his fifties and a real creep. He's very familiar to the staff at my library as he's always caused trouble - he's even been given warnings before. My boss is furious and I've just gotten back from talking with her - she's going to do everything she can to help me. She's even going to work the midnight shift with me this week, and make sure our security or the campus "walk safe" program take me home after. It turns out this isn't the only instance of this happening to the female staff; a coworker of mine who works during the day has had another man trailing her to classes.
I just want to know if anyone has any advice or similar stories to offer for support. Because I'm not having a good year, and this was about the last thing I needed to have happen. I feel victimized, and I'll confess now, I'm pretty much sobbing as I write this because I'm upset that someone has gotten this much control over my life. I know I have to face this next week when he comes in and put an end to it. If I'm lucky, my boss is considering getting him banned from the building given his past with our staff. But of course, that only protects me at work and not in my residence or classes. And I'm just not a very confrontational person and I don't want this man to know how much it's effected me. It feels like giving him a victory.
Sorry if that's an overly emotional post and perhaps even inappropriate. I'm currently in the process of having to fill in people like my don and my parents about this, and it's really waring on me.
What is unsettling is that this man isn't a student - he's at least in his fifties and a real creep. He's very familiar to the staff at my library as he's always caused trouble - he's even been given warnings before. My boss is furious and I've just gotten back from talking with her - she's going to do everything she can to help me. She's even going to work the midnight shift with me this week, and make sure our security or the campus "walk safe" program take me home after. It turns out this isn't the only instance of this happening to the female staff; a coworker of mine who works during the day has had another man trailing her to classes.
I just want to know if anyone has any advice or similar stories to offer for support. Because I'm not having a good year, and this was about the last thing I needed to have happen. I feel victimized, and I'll confess now, I'm pretty much sobbing as I write this because I'm upset that someone has gotten this much control over my life. I know I have to face this next week when he comes in and put an end to it. If I'm lucky, my boss is considering getting him banned from the building given his past with our staff. But of course, that only protects me at work and not in my residence or classes. And I'm just not a very confrontational person and I don't want this man to know how much it's effected me. It feels like giving him a victory.
Sorry if that's an overly emotional post and perhaps even inappropriate. I'm currently in the process of having to fill in people like my don and my parents about this, and it's really waring on me.