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Thus far, have come forward with stories of how comedian Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them. Three high school girls in Oklahoma who were by the same male student were bullied for coming forward. And in Washington, D.C., this week, a Capitol Hill staffer pleaded guilty to drugging and sexually assaulting female colleagues.

A law can only do so much without the cultural and political will to implement its intent.

The United States has a serious gender-based violence problem.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has helped the situation some by institutionalizing protection of victims’ rights, increasing prosecutions and penalties for rape and domestic violence, and making resources available for survivors of violence and their families. The provisions of VAWA have and can go a long way to bringing rapists and abusers to justice, protect women from new abuses, and get survivors of assault back on their feet.

But a law can only do so much without the cultural and political will to implement its intent. For example, from the New Orleans Police Department reveals the greatest challenge facing women who seek to hold their rapists accountable for their actions: In a three-year period, the NOPD only followed up on 14 percent of reports of sexual assault—the remaining 86 percent were never investigated at all.

Change can only occur if we switch our mindsets from the reactionary to the proactive.

These challenges are global. Just last week as the rest of the world was recognizing the International Day to End Violence against Women,the UN Mission in Darfur to prepare to withdraw—this, following the mission’s request to investigate new reports of mass rape committed by government forces.

Rape has also become an alarmingly common occurrence for Central American women crossing the border into the United States—in fact, 80 percent of women are subjected to sexual assault before reaching the United States, .

Domestic violence is , though more women are reporting abuse, signaling a positive change in women’s willingness to courageously speak up (and, importantly, for the rest of us to listen without attaching stigma).

Women all over the world continue to face violence, whether they are being beaten by members of their families, raped by persons known or unknown, or assaulted within the context of military aggression and armed conflict.

I had many female friends who would tell me about the fraternities they avoided …

The public outrage that has followed each shocking event in the United States is only meaningful if it is met with corresponding action, and change can only occur if we switch our mindsets from the reactionary to the proactive: We need to honestly unpack and confront the cultural forces that make violence against women so pervasive.

One in five women is estimated to be a survivor of sexual violence. This is not just a criminal justice issue, but a cultural phenomenon.

I was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity when I went to undergraduate college years ago. My sister-in-law currently attends UVA. The allegations made in Rolling Stone are very personal on many levels and absolutely political as well. Whether they occurred exactly as the author details or not, there is absolutely no denying that many fraternities tolerate—if not accept—a culture where their masculine identity somehow condones or even celebrates the objectification of women.

Looking back, I had many female friends who would tell me about the fraternities they avoided, or the parties they wouldn’t attend—and I lived with men who would often display the unwelcome behavior women were trying to avoid.

Violence against women will continue to be a serious problem worldwide until all of us, our political leaders, and our legal systems demonstrate that women have an inviolable right to be safe from injury at the hands of others, that perpetrators will be prosecuted and punished for their actions—and that we will hold ourselves accountable for the cultural norms we perpetuate that allow violence to occur.