Sadly, along with the breakthroughs in technology and advancing civilization, crimes against women have also risen. Understandably, the continued increase in assaults is driving women to step up their personal levels of self defense.

• As of 2001 roughly one-third of women across the world have been the victims of rape or sexual assault.

• According to numbers gleaned from 2002 data, as many as one-third of adolescent girls in developing countries have been forced into sexual initiations.

• About 40% of South East Asian girls are forced into prostitution to help feed their relatives.

• In the United States roughly one woman in 3 is sexually assaulted during her lifetime.

For women this translates in to the need to choose from among a host of self-defense weapons. In ever-increasing numbers they are selecting non-lethal devices which are not firearms and do not require concealed weapons permits for use. Due to the usually smaller size hand, females are not usually as comfortable with a larger weapon typically used by males. Also, women often prefer carrying a small but effective canister on a key ring or in a purse.

In direct response to the burgeoning need, companies are designing weapons which are easy for women to use. Pepper spray, as a good example, comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) is the most commonly used chemical compound. When directed into the face of an assailant, it causes severe pain, irritates the eyes and ears, and can even lead to temporary blindness. Capsaicin, the primary ingredient in pepper spray, comes from a plant in the Capsicum genus which includes chili peppers. There are, however, about five chemical variations of pepper spray.

PAVA pepper spray contains a combination of capsaicin, pelargonic acid vanillylamide or desmethyldihydrocapsaicin. This variation is widely used in England, as well as other parts of the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, chemists in Russia developed a synthetic version called pelargonic acid morpholide. There, it is now in heavy use.

Permanent blindness is rare, but can result if an entire canister is sprayed into the eyes of an assailant. In lesser amounts, however, the effect is rarely permanent. When questioned, women in fear of rape or death clearly state they are not concerned about possibly blinding the molester. The objective, for them, is to avoid assault themselves or to prevent assault of another woman or child.

Since pepper spray hit the worldwide market, the numbers of sexual molestation and rape in many countries have decreased, presumably as a result of this particular type of personal protection rather than the improved behavior of fellow countrymen.

While pepper spray can be used for controlling masses of people and animals, its soaring sales are a result of women dealing with personal assault and who are not content to remain in the victim role.