Updated: Mon Nov. 02 2009 18:08:03

ctvwinnipeg.ca

The province is preparing a new strategy to tackle cyber-stalking by educating family violence victims and those that help them in order to keep people safe.

In cyber-stalking, abusers use computers to track the movement and activities of their victims.

Cynthia Fraser, a technology safety specialist, says the problem is more common than people realize.

"Many abusers now use technology to harass and stalk the people they either dated, or were married to," said Fraser.

She says that as the technology grows sophisticated, the problem is getting worse not better.

"We're seeing more and more that abusers are placing GPS location tracking devices in belongings of the survivor," said Fraser.

The province is developing a plan in conjunction with experts to deal with cyber-stalking and aims to launch it this winter, educating victims and family service providers of the dangers and how to deal with them.

"We believe we need to stay ahead of this cyber-stalking and techno-stalking that is happening here in Manitoba, and (to) provide protection," said Manitoba Labour Minister Nancy Allan.

- with a report from CTV's Jon Hendricks