Do you suffer from a stalker? Someone who harasses you online or in real life? If so, it is important that you take action quickly.

Here's what you can do:

- Are you in danger now? Then call 112.

- Put 112 as a hotkey in your phone.

- Install the 112NL app.

- Tell a friend, family member or someone else you trust about what is going on.

- Talk to a professional, such as a confidant (vertrouwenspersoon), social worker or the police, for help and advice. Ugly Mugs can help you find someone.

- Do you want to go to the police? Then ask for your area's 'stalking/domestic violence specialist'. This is an officer who fully understands stalking. They can work with you to see how to stop the stalking. Many regions have such an expert. You can’t find one? Then ask Ugly Mugs for help.

- Tell your stalker clearly once what your boundaries are. For example, "I want you to stop contacting me." Do you do this via text or WhatsApp? Then save your message and the reply as proof.

- After that, ignore the stalker. Do not respond to contact attempts by the stalker. Your angry messages are also a reward for many stalkers. Ignoring them works best. So don't pick up the phone, and don't reply to messages or emails.

- Save messages, emails or other evidence of stalking so you can show it to others if necessary. Find a handy tool to collect evidence here (in Dutch).

- Block the stalker on social media and in your phone contacts. Important: Do you report a stalker on WhatsApp? Then WhatsApp will get the last five messages the stalker sent to you. Is there anything in there about sex work? Then you may lose your WhatsApp account. Blocking, however, can be done safely.

- Check your privacy settings on social media. Limit who can see your profile and who can send you a message. This is how you protect yourself. Read here how to check your privacy settings.

Read here how to reduce the risk of stalking.

Written with the cooperation of The Police.