Last year 4,738 women across Southwest Virginia sought protective orders against men who were stalking or abusing them, according to the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Alliance.

Sue Daniels, a Virginia Tech biologist who police say was stalked and killed by a friend in November, tried to take out a protective order against her attacker but balked at having him arrested.

Virginia law offers two kinds of protective orders to women who have been stalked or abused. Women who are married to, living with or have children with the men who are abusing them can file for a general protective order through the court system.

Women who are being stalked by men they have dated but never lived with or by a stranger can get a stalking protective order. This order requires the woman to take out a criminal warrant for the man's arrest. She must petition the court to extend the order.

The orders carry stiff criminal penalties if abusers violate them, including up to a year in jail, and they can include stipulations for counseling and other services. But the orders are not a cure-all.

"The problem is that a protective order, in and of itself, is only a piece of paper," said Debra Sifford, an attorney with the Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society, who specializes in domestic violence cases.

So, victims should contact the nearest domestic violence resource center and ask for help developing a "safety plan," which can include moving to a different location, staying in a shelter or with relatives, creating an emergency call list of friends, and varying her route to work every day, among other strategies, Sifford said.

There are also programs at shelters that will help explain the legal protections and help a woman press charges and get protective orders.

Sifford, who has been working as a domestic violence attorney for 18 years and has seen abusers in court for hurting their second and third victims, also believes intervention programs for men, such Keith Fender's Domestic Violence Alternatives Program in Radford, can help.