THOUSAND OAKS, CA - An expert in stalking and workplace violence will speak at California Lutheran University from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Rhonda Saunders with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office will present “Personal Safety in Diverse Social Contexts: Legal Responses to Stalking and Harassment” in Lundring Events Center. A welcome reception will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Saunders, who has served as a criminal prosecutor for 25 years, is an internationally recognized expert in stalking, workplace violence and criminal threats. She established the Stalking and Threat Assessment Team for the L.A. District Attorney’s Office and the L.A. Stalking Task Force.

Although Saunders is well known for successfully prosecuting people who stalked or threatened Steven Spielberg, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anna Nicole Smith, more cases involve ordinary love affairs gone awry than celebrities. Studies have found that between 50 and 60 percent of women who have been physically abused were stalked by their former partners following the breakup of a relationship. Stalking can occur in the workplace, online and in other settings. Four out of five stalking victims are women.

Saunders revised sections of California’s Stalking Law Penal Code so that law enforcement and the courts can better protect victims. She has lectured to prosecutors, law enforcement and victim advocacy groups in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. In 2005, the German government invited her to lecture at the country’s first Stalking Symposium. She also has been featured as an expert on many television shows including “Today,” “Dr. Phil” and the “Nancy Grace Show.” She received her doctorate in law from the University of Southern California Law School.

Lundring Events Center is located in Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center north of Olsen Road near Mountclef Boulevard on the Thousand Oaks campus.

CLU’s Department of Criminal Justice and Center for Equality and Justice are sponsoring the free presentation. For more information, contact Bob Meadows at 805-493-3484 or meadows@callutheran.edu, or Herb Gooch at 805-493-3348 or gooch@callutheran.edu.