Years of torment: Open declaration from Kazakh blogger activist
Stalking tales have taken the internet by storm after blogger and actress Alya Baybusinova shared her five-year ordeal on TikTok. With nearly 400,000 views, her heart-wrenching confession has sparked a buzzing conversation among social media users.
"Five years of stalking. This person made my chat wallpaper and inundated me with weekly messages since 2020," Alya disclosed.
She noted that the persistence never stopped, and, at some point, she thanked him for his kindness, making the conversation private. However, he would reappear every now and then, sending bizarre videos suggesting a romantic involvement.
Matters took a turn when the stalker suddenly added Alya to his "close friends" list and shared a picture from a train station, claiming he waited for her all evening. "I saw his post, and he posted a photo from the train station where he waited for me all evening. I blocked him. I was unsure of how I felt – it was a mix of discomfort and a bit of fear," Alya confessed.
According to Alya, the man appeared to be between 35-42 years old and had a family and children. He had tried to send her flowers and had been messaging her daily for five years.
Photo courtesy of TikTok/@aliya.023
This incident is not the first time Alya has encountered such harassment. She recalls an instance from her youth when a stranger tried to take her luggage at a train station, shouting that he knew her. Later, he showed an old photograph of her to the policeman who came to her aid.
"I was so young at the time and I was in shock. When he turned away, I sped off and hid behind a counter," she recounted.
Another incident occurred in the courtyard of her home when a man recognized her and bombarded her with the same message in direct messages for months: "Hi, I'm that guy from the neighborhood." Alya was terrified to block him, fearing confrontation.
"I don’t consider myself a media person. But at home, I have pepper spray and a few other self-defense items. With such stories, you definitely become more mindful of your personal safety," Alya wrote.
One of Alya’s followers asked a logical question: "Why not just block the person who's been messaging you for five years?"
"Not the first one like that. I can’t monitor strange people," the blogger replied.
Opinions among her followers were divided. Some questioned why she had tolerated the unwanted attention for so long, while others shared their own stories, sympathized, and supported the girl.
"It scared me through the screen...", "I had a stalker too... now I never use my real name on social media," "Be careful! Warn your loved ones and turn on location sharing," users wrote on the network.
Later, Alya posted another video where she said she had blocked the stalker after a wave of support and advice.
"I blocked him, as advised by many of you. And this info came up on Threads yesterday: I was working with a mobileographer, and he even messaged him," Alya shared.
Alya Baybusinova is a well-known blogger and actress with nearly 700,000 followers. She shares her travel photos and videos and used to practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Stalking is a form of persistent, unwanted attention that can include surveillance, threats, harassing messages, appearing near the victim, or interfering with their personal life.
As Kazakhstan works to strengthen its legal frameworks addressing harassment and stalking, improvements to legislation in the field of labor relations and definitions of sexual harassment at the workplace have become key focus areas. While specific anti-stalking laws remain unclear, recent legal efforts indicate growing attention to workplace and interpersonal harassment prevention.
- Alya's heart-wrenching confession about five years of stalking on TikTok has stirred conversations among social media users.
- The persistence of the stalker, who sent bizarre videos suggesting a romantic involvement, was not halted even when Alya thanked him for his kindness and made their conversation private.
- Alya's followers were divided in their opinions, with some questioning why she had tolerated the unwanted attention for so long while others shared their own stories, sympathized, and supported her.
- With such experiences, Alya has become more mindful of her personal safety and keeps self-defense items at home.
- Stalking, a form of persistent, unwanted attention that can include harassing messages and surveillance, is a serious concern that requires attention, as demonstrated by Alya's ordeal.
- As Kazakhstan works to strengthen its legal frameworks addressing harassment and stalking, the need for clear anti-stalking laws and improvements in the field of labor relations, including the definition of sexual harassment at the workplace, has become a key focus area.
