Prepare Your Daughter for the Risks of Date Rape

• Step 1:

  Instruct her to go on group dates whenever possible. Your daughter is much less likely to become a victim of date rape when socializing in groups. Find other young couples from her school that she can join for dates.

• Step 2:

  Advise her to avoid dark and secluded places. Tell your daughter to limit her dates to social places like malls, restaurants or amusement parks. It’s much more difficult for her to become a victim of date rape if she stays in populated, public places the entire time.

• Step 3:

  Give her your car to use on dates. Having to share a car with her date means she’ll be alone and at his mercy for extended periods of time. Sexual assaults can happen just as easily in a parked car as a locked bedroom.

• Step 4:

  Insist that she abstain from drinking too much on dates. Alcohol can lower inhibitions, lead to poor decision-making and encourage aggressive tendencies, especially in young men. Drunk dating can be just as dangerous as drunk driving.

• Step 5:

  Talk to her about the risk of date-rape drugs. Drugs such GHB, Rohypnol and Ketamine are commonly used by date rapists to subdue victims. These drugs can be odorless, colorless and flavorless, making it difficult to detect when added to food or drink. Advise her never to accept a beverage from anyone but the server and not to leave her food or beverage unattended.

• Step 6:

  Equip her with mace or pepper spray. This can be a reliable way to subdue an attacker and make an escape. Pepper sprays are readily available at retail stores and through Internet sites that specialize in self-defense products.

• Step 7:

  Suggest that she take a self-defense course. While a rapist might have a height or weight advantage, there are several simple techniques she can use to overpower an attacker. There are self-defense courses that are specifically designed for women.