As millions of wide eyed teenagers prepare to leave home for the first time and head off for their freshman year of college, the anticipation of exploring new things, experimenting, and oh yes learning too, fills the hearts and minds of those teenagers. Thoughts of rape, drugs, assault, and a myriad of other hazards fill the minds and hearts of the parents and scare the living daylights out of those parents.

Hardly a day goes by that a report of some kind of assault of a young woman, sexual or otherwise, on a college campus gets noticed. College officials, parents, and campus police do everything they can to take preventative measures in the dorms and on campus in general but the offenses continue to occur. Here are some statistics on college rape that most people find terrifying especially the parents of those teenage girls.

--One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.

--One out of eight women will be raped while in college.

--84% of women who were raped knew their assailant.

--57% of rapes occur on a date.

--75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in date rape had been drinking or using drugs.

What can parents do to protect their children as they go off to school? First make their children aware of the very real risks in a heart to heart talk. Make them aware of some warning signs for deviant behavior. Encourage caution for your children when dating especially when it comes to using alcohol, the number one date rape drug. Most importantly arm them with some non lethal self defense weapons such as pepper spray that can be easily concealed, easy to use, and very effective in deterring unwanted advances.

There is a reason they call it self defense. School officials and police cannot be everywhere to protect students on and off campus. It is the responsibility of parents and their children to take the appropriate steps to learn the potential hazards and take corrective action to prevent incidents from occurring. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If you think crime can only happen to the other guy you are wrong. The "other guy" is thinking the same thing and YOU are that "other guy". There is a reason why they call it self defense. YOU have to protect yourself, your family, your home and business!!