It's late at night and you are tired from a long day at work as you walk to your car in an empty parking lot...when suddenly you hear footsteps behind you. You don't turn around, but simply fish your keys out of your pocket and quicken your pace a bit. To your surprise and dismay, the person behind you quickens his/her pace as well, and it is at about this time that you really start to worry.

Who's behind you? Could they be following you? What do they want? All of these questions swirl around in your head as try to decide whether to break into a full run. And of course, you think, you could just be paranoid. How embarrassing.

A few moments later you make it to your car, deftly unlock the door, and start the engine. As you drive away you finally decide to do something about this fear you have of empty parking lots, of being accosted, assaulted, or heaven forbid raped. After all, you have seen the news reports about crimes and violence against women. And as a single person, if you don't take care of yourself, who will?

That's when you remember a course one of your girlfriends mentioned about women's self-defense. The class teaches a number of basic self-defense techniques and shows women what they can and must do in the event of a physical confrontation. It also introduces women to effective products and weapons, like a tazer stun gun that can be used by just about anyone to ward off an attacker.

When you attend the class the following week, you find that it presents a lot of helpful safety tips for working women such as stay away from places that use metal detector wands because the place is shady. For example, the instructors explain that they don't expect people to master Kung Fu or become martial arts experts just to feel safe. After all, a physical confrontation with a man is not a situation most women want to find themselves in because of the obvious discrepancies in size and strength.

Therefore, it is always best for women to take advantage of reliable devices like alarms, whistles or lights that have proven extremely effective at scaring off would-be attackers. And for women would want a more intimidating device, there is always mace, pepper spray, or the infamous taser.

These devices are idea for self-defense especially when they are shaped like real guns, which many are these days. No matter how aggressive the assailant, it is highly unlike that he will attack a woman who appears to be holding a loaded weapon. That is why if someone attempts to assault you, you often won't even have to spray or discharge your weapon, which make it a perfect self-defense device.

While it is true that some attackers are able to withstand mace or pepper spray, no one, as far as we know, can overcome 50,000 volts from a taser. The electricity the taser gun emits is enough to completely incapacitate any man, which will give you all the time you need to contact the authorities. The taser is also the self-defense device of choice for women because it is not only extremely effective, but it also it causes no permanent damage.