One in six women have been the victim of rape or attempted rape and the Alachua County Sheriff's Office wants to lower that number. April is National Sexual Awareness month and the Rape Aggression Defense program, also know as RAD, offers a free three session class for women ages thirteen and up who live in Alachua County. Women will learn about rape prevention, self defense, and what to do and how to react in an attack- type situation.

"We want you to take a proactive approach to your safety and not a reactive approach. We don't want something bad to happen before all the ladies out there say hey, i need to do something to protect myself," says Deputy Shawn Pagel of RAD.
The next RAD session is on May 5, 7 and 12 at the Family Church on Parker Road in Gainesville.

To register for RAD contract Deputy Shawn Pagel at 352-367-4044 or 352-538-1277 or email at spagel@alachuasheriff.org

The class consists of three four hour sessions and can host about 30 women.

Go to
http://www.alachuasheriff.org/crime_prevention_reporting/rad_program.htm
for more information