 has produced a report based on the experiences of 36 women who have contacted them with concerns. They include allegations of poor communication, a lack of empathy and failures to address safety issues. Devon and Cornwall Police has been contacted for comment. Among recommendations from the CAC report is the forming of a new dedicated women's protection unit within the police force. All of the women involved had contacted the charity with concerns about the way their case had been handled since February 2022. The BBC has spoken to two women who have been supported by the charity in connection with stalking allegations. Both cases involve incidents they say they have been reporting to the police over the last three years - the women have not been named to protect their identities. The first woman said she told officers she feared she would be killed by her stalker. She said police told her it wasn't in the public interest to pursue her case and wrote to her doctor suggesting "increasing her [anti-depressant] to a level that results in her being able to make calm and rational decisions". She said she was being followed every time she left her house: "It just got worse and worse and worse, I was totally locked in my home. I would present all of this to the police - links and screen shots and I was told it wasn't in the public interest to pursue [a prosecution]". The woman, who lives in Cornwall and is in her 40s, said Devon and Cornwall Police told her they would not be investigating her case any further. "It just wasn't taken seriously. Like I was some sort of drama queen and I wanted all this to happen," she said. A second woman, also in her 40s, told the BBC she was given 21 crime reference numbers over 18 months){kind=link}
A charity that handles domestic abuse and stalking cases has said women involved are frequently being failed by the police.
Citizens Advice Cornwall (CAC) has produced a report based on the experiences of 36 women who have contacted them with concerns.
They include allegations of poor communication, a lack of empathy and failures to address safety issues.
Devon and Cornwall Police has been contacted for comment.
Among recommendations from the CAC report is the forming of a new dedicated women’s protection unit within the police force.