Nevertheless, one-third of Utah women will experience some form of sexual violence, nearly 90 percent of victims were first assaulted as children and only 20 percent of all victims reported the attacks. The numbers are disturbing. So is the fact that while the rate of other violent crime in Utah traditionally is half to a third of the national average, the incidence of rape exceeds that average.

But worst of all would be the shame if, knowing how often women and girls are violated in this state, we did not act decisively to change these numbers.

A study compiled by the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, initiated at least partly because Utah officials could not believe the statistic in a national study that 20 percent of Utah women are raped, confirms that the problem is shockingly pervasive.

The study debunked the idea that rapists are usually strangers to their victims, that they stalk them in dark parking lots and on playgrounds. The fact is that fewer than 9 percent of the victims were attacked by a stranger, while about a quarter were assaulted by a family member.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has asked several groups to develop a strategy to prevent these crimes against women and to monitor sex offenders. It is a good first step, but one that requires long-term commitment to achieve tangible results.

It won't be easy.

Contributing to the problem are attitudes and beliefs that such criminal acts should be kept quiet, that reporting them could harm a family, that victims somehow invited the attacks. These misguided responses further depress the low percentage of women and girls who report an assault to police or seek medical care and counseling.

The survey of more than 1,200 women also showed that a majority who did report an attack to police were very dissatisfied with their treatment and only 22 percent were provided with a victim advocate. In only 37 percent of reported cases were charges filed. Still, those victims overwhelmingly said they would report another attack and would advise others to do the same.

Only when girls and women understand that they have rights - to be safe, to seek help and to have their attackers punished - and when those rights are upheld in families and by law enforcement, will meaningful change be possible.