CALLS are being made for a new type of 'Clare's Law' in Scotland which allows people to be told if their partners have been been convicted of a stalking and sex crime.
Anti-stalking campaigners believe a stalking register in Scotland would allow potential victims to check if partners have any history of harassment, stalking or sexual abuse.
It comes following growing concerns that sexual predators are using online dating to target women.
Yesterday a Scots soldier was convicted of stalking his ex-girlfriend, breaking into her flat and cutting her neck open from ear to ear.
Lance Corporal Trimaan "Harry" Dhillon, 26, was convicted of murdering Alice Ruggles and leaving her to bleed to death on her bathroom floor in Gateshead last October.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the obsessive and manipulative Special Forces hopeful had stalked Ms Ruggles who ended their relationship and ignored the subsequent police warning to drive from his Edinburgh barracks to Tyneside to kill her in a jealous temper.
Clare's Law, which was first introduced across England and Wales in March 2014, allows people to be told if their partner has been violent in the past.
The initiative, which was introduced in Scotland in October, 2015, is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her violent ex-boyfriend several years ago.
The 36-year-old was strangled and set on fire by George Appleton in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2009. She was unaware of his history of violence against women.
Her father, Michael Brown (below), campaigned for people to have the right to ask for information about partners, and for the police and other agencies to have the power to take the initiative and tell someone if there are grounds for concern.
As Scotland hosts a first ever stalking conference, today, one of the organisers Ann Moulds, has called for a similar scheme to prevent sexual abuse.
"There is a need for a stalking register. My concern is there are vulnerable women using these sites and it is the perfect place for criminals, stalkers, abusers to entice women and men," said Ms Moulds, a previous victim, who became founder of the Action Against Stalking (AAS) charity.
Ms Moulds set up the charity in 2009 after experiencing stalking and successfully campaigned for the introduction of anti-stalking laws which were passed the following year.
Prior to 2010, stalking was prosecuted as a form of harassment under breach of the peace.
"I am more and more concerned that these sites are being used by would-be criminals to attract through deceit and deception," added Ms Moulds, a former Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year. "If we can set up Clare's Law for domestic abuse, then why not have one to stop stalkers.
"If a woman is dating someone, why should she not know if there has a record for stalking or a sexual crime."
A petition calling for a stalking register in England and Wales launched by John Clough (below) from Lancashire, whose 26-year-old nurse daughter, Jane was stabbed to death by a violent former partner outside her work in 2010, has raised nearly 130,000 signatures.
Jonathan Vass, 36, was on bail for raping the Ms Clough when he stabbed her 71 times at a Blackpool hospital. He was given life for the murder in 2010.
Ms Moulds said: The problem with England is they are not that far ahead with dealing with the crime very well. It (a register) is premature for them.
"In Scotland we are so far ahead, and the police are making such a good job of dealing with it."
The Tracking the Stalker conference which opens at Glasgow's Marriott Hotel today will hear that former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini has become honorary patron of AAS.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, who opens the conference said: "Scotland was the first jurisdiction within the UK to legislate for a specific offence of stalking and we have come a long way in recognising just how damaging exploitative behaviour can be.
"We know there is more to do. Action Against Stalking and many of the speakers taking part in this conference have led the way in changing the way that both the justice system and the public understand what stalking is and the harm it causes.
"The reform of the law to make prosecuting stalking easier was the result of partnership working and we continue to work together to support those targeted by stalkers and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "A formal Disclosure Scheme is operated by Police Scotland, who advise that if police checks reveal that someone’s partner has a record of violent behaviour, or that there is other information to indicate that the person may be at risk from that partner, they will consider sharing this information with the person at risk.
“More generally, we would advise anyone who considers they may be at risk from the activities of another person to ensure the police are aware of their concerns.”
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