I was born and raised in the west and lived away from home for a couple of years when I was in graduate school (same continent, different city). My parents were supportive of my obtaining my higher education and trusted me when I was living away from home. Would they have sent me anywhere - no - what they did was ensure that I was in a relatively safe city and that I knew what steps to take to preserve my safety and not take to take my personal safety for granted.
There are two sayings that come to mind and both of which colored my actions:
Kadam phoonk phoonk kai rakho, and
Aankh ujjhal, pahar ujjhal.
I used to check in with my parents if I was going somewhere - the same way I would have done if I had been living at home. Some might say that I was uber-conservative or that my caution made me backwards - but for me I felt a sense of responsibility to my parents and didn't want to give anyone the opportunity to spread tall tales about me - it was a matter of honoring my parents trust. My parents could account for where I had been and so long as they could support me and respond to the small-minded gossipers, I had no cares.
At the end of the day, you can't stop people from their gossip - but you can try to take steps to mitigate the gossip.