She could have been my daughter, or my neighbor's daughter. Carnesha Nelson was a bright, attractive 19- year- old college student who unfortunately became the obsession of a young man who worked on her campus at the University of Mississippi.

He hounded her relentlessly, and wouldn't take no for an answer. The night he assaulted her, she ran screaming from him, pounding on dormitory doors. Fellow students called the police, but did not let her in. He caught and killed her.

January was stalking awareness month. Each year there are many young women who say no to boyfriends and suitors, and lose their lives as a result. Over 1,100 women were killed by intimate partners in 2005, and another 860 by male acquaintances, with women from 18 to 30 years old the most at risk.

However, the number of women killed by stalkers is only a fraction of those affected by the violence. Over one million protective orders are issued annually by the states to protect women from assault or stalking.

Stalking is a growing problem on college campuses where over 20 percent of college women report fearing for their safety as a result of being stalked, according to a 2004 study cited by the National Center for Victims of Crime.

The first anti- stalking law went into effect in 1990 in California, and such laws now exist in all the states.

The states and several college campuses remain in the process of working out effective protocols for dealing with stalkers.

Anti- stalking laws can be a strong deterrent to violence, but only if effectively enforced. In a few cases, a serious discussion with the stalker may be all that is needed. But persistent stalkers, who ignore court orders and pose a threat to the victim, must face certain arrest and jail time, if such stalking is to be stopped.

However, only 44 percent of persons violating a protective order were arrested, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime.

Our legal system must in fact protect those whose only crime is to have chosen the wrong partner, or in some cases, simply to have become the obsession of the wrong person. The need is urgent. Without such protection, many more lives will be unnecessarily lost to violence, and millions of young adults will lack the safety and security they need to flourish.