Caroline Saul

Caroline is a British survivor of extreme stalking violence, coercive control, and by-proxy harassment, who now combines lived experience with academic expertise to educate communities and organisations about non-partner violence and systemic failure.

Her case illustrates classic patterns of predatory stalking: an initial period of covert surveillance lasting two years, followed by three years of overt harassment and violent acts. Her stalker systematically collected information, embedded himself into her daily life, and manipulated friends and family to isolate her. He broke into her home repeatedly, abducted her young daughter, and coerced Caroline into compliance as a strategy for survival — a clear example of manipulation and coercive control in action.

Despite repeated attempts to secure protection, institutional responses were inadequate. Police mislabelled her experience as domestic violence and mishandled the case, while a civil injunction failed to deter the perpetrator. A courtroom encounter exemplified systemic misunderstanding: Caroline was advised by the district judge that her experience was “a toxic relationship, and to stay away from him” while her abuser was told he should be serving over 20 years. Over the decades, she has been forced to relocate nine times to maintain the spectrum of safety.

Caroline turned her experience into both advocacy and scholarly inquiry. She pursued a career in housing and community safety and later studied critical criminology, specialising in zemiology — the study of harms often overlooked or minimised by law. Her work highlights how stalking, coercive control, and by-proxy harassment intersect with legal and social systems, demonstrating both the gaps in protection and the resilience required for survival.