THIS week is National Stalking Awareness Week in the UK and Avon and Somerset Police are supporting the Suzy Lamplugh Trust to highlight the issue.

The 2016 campaign, called Stalking Counts, is shining a light on stalking online and what support is available to victims.

A new study, entitled The Stalker In Your Pocket, was commissioned by the trust.

As part of the study a survey was conducted online by YouGov in collaboration with consultant psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud and forensic psychiatrist Dr David James.

More than 4,000 British adults were questioned in the survey, which showed that nearly a fifth of adult women (18%) and 8% of men in the country had been stalked.

It also revealed 36.8% of people that have been stalked had been stalked using online methods such as by Facebook or e-mail.

Victims often respond to stalking by disconnecting from the internet.

Many victims do not make a police report and the response by police can be mixed.

In 2015, the National Stalking Helpline run by Suzy Lamplugh Trust, received more than 6,500 calls and emails for help and advice.

The Helpline was not able to answer all calls because of limited capacity and a year-on-year increase in demand for the service.

A recent study by the Trust revealed that stalking is a crime that remains vastly under-reported.

The study also showed that training and support services across police services in the country are underfunded and need to be improved, with only around a quarter of forces having specialised services available to victims.

David Tucker, crime and criminal justice lead for the College of Policing, said: “The College is supporting forces to be more effective in protecting and safeguarding people who may be at risk of harm.

“We have developed a comprehensive course delivered to recruits and new investigators that addresses a range of public protection issues, including stalking and harassment.

"In the coming months, we will be publishing new guidance on stalking and harassment.

"It updates the existing version to reflect changes in legislation and emerging knowledge about the experience of victims and the behaviour of perpetrators."

Police say they want to highlight what constitutes stalking and encourage people to talk about it and report it.