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A new report says Utah's reported rape rate underestimates the actual incidence of rape in the state.
In a phone survey last year of more than 1,800 women, the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice found almost one in three women in Utah (28.9 percent) is a victim of sexual violence. That is more than the national average. 
Heather Stringfellow, Executive Director of the Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake City, says rape is such a big problem in our state, it has reached epidemic proportions. Chris Mitchell, the main researcher for the survey, said, "It does emphasize how important an issue this is and how necessary services are to help victims of rape."
However, only 12-percent of the victims ever reported it to police. Some said they were too young to understand what happened. Others felt the the incident was too minor to be considered a crime.
Stringfellow added it may be because victims feel guilty or that going to the police won't do any good or they may simply be embarrassed.
Mitchell said, "A lot of them aren't reported because they had a close relationship with their perpetrator."
"In reality it's almost always somebody that you know, someone within your family, someone you're dating, someone you're married to and that becomes so complicated," said Stringfellow.
The study does indicate that at least a third of victims get mental help after the incident. But the ones that don't say the cost of service does affect their decision. The Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake offers free therapy, but the director says more state support is needed and Stringfellow says victims need to know they are not alone; that they do not have to face this on their own. She says there are advocates out there, available and willing to help.
Stringfellow added it is a shame that the public tends to focus on the victim of sexual violence when we should focus our attention on offenders.
She says it starts with teaching our kids how to have respectful relationships and understand that violent behaviors are not OK. We need to have respect for each other and respect someone's right to say no and not participate in that activity if you don't want to.
She concluded, "It's about offender accountability."
The commission says that Utah's rape rate has been about 10 percent higher than the national average for the past decade.
This study surveyed Utah women, but didn't specify if the incidents happened in this state or not.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
