The 29-year-old singer Harry Styles reportedly left “shaken” after he was targeted by an alleged stalker, 35-year-old Myra Carvalho in North London, not long after he returned home from a holiday in the Caribbean with his 29-year-old actress girlfriend, Taylor Russell.

The Sun reported that Carvalho has now been charged with causing Styles serious harm. She appeared at Highbury Corner magistrates’ court on Tuesday, where it was mentioned that she had allegedly “pursued a course of conduct – namely harassment – which amounted to stalking causing serious alarm or distress.”

“Harry was really shaken up. He had spent the start of the month in Anguilla with Taylor and James Corden and he’d had a great break,” a source told The Sun. “Harry just wants to carry on as normal, but this has been concerning.”

The charge emphasised that Carvalho’s purported actions significantly impacted the Watermelon Sugar singer’s “usual day-to-day activities.” It was reportedly conveyed as part of the charge that she “knew, or ought to have known, the course of conduct would cause alarm or distress.”

Carvalho has been remanded in custody and is scheduled for her next appearance at Harrow Crown Court in London on February 20.

The recent incident marks the latest stalking episode involving the former One Direction star, following an unrelated 2022 case where Diana Tarazaga-Orero, 29, forcibly entered his home. Tarazaga-Orero had a prior stalking conviction three years earlier. 

In response to these security breaches, Styles had to enhance his security measures, including hiring a night guard and adding a panic lock to his bedroom door.

The dangers of harassment

Harassment is broadly defined as treating someone in a manner that causes them to feel insulted, degraded, sad, and sometimes unsafe. It comes in various forms, such as bullying, racial harassment, and sexual harassment.

Harassment constitutes criminal offences as outlined in The Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Actions specified by the Act encompass a range of behaviours, including phone calls, letters, emails, visits, stalking, verbal abuse (including on social media), threats, damage to property, and bodily harm. 

Sexual harassment is also a form of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. According to the Act, it qualifies as sexual harassment if the unwelcome behaviour violates an individual’s dignity or creates an environment that is intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive in physical and digital environments.

Harassment, in any form, can be targeted towards both women and men. Public figures, including celebrities, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), are particularly susceptible to becoming targets of harassment.

As per the Centre for Social Justice, one-third of domestic abuse victims are men. In 2020, the Office for National Statistics recorded 1.6 million reports of abuse from women and 757,000 reports from men.

However, not many were brave enough to open up and seek help. Only a few male celebrities were able to share their experiences as victims of sexual harassment or abuse, such as Matthew McConaughey, Terry Crews, Anthony Rapp, and Brendan Fraser.

Syles’ incident serves as a reminder of why the service of close protection officers (CPOs) from reputable security firms like Marengo is recommended, particularly as he’s not the only public figure involved in stalking incident this past week.

On Monday, a Seattle man was arrested for loitering outside singer Taylor Swift’s Tribeca home. Two days prior, he was arrested for attempting to break into her New York City apartment.

CPOs are crucial in keeping public figures safe from harassment and other crimes. They are trained to secure individuals with elevated risks due to their public profile. These professionals can conduct threat assessments, deter potential dangers, monitor surroundings, and swiftly respond to security concerns in both physical and digital spaces.