Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough hadn't given the issue of sexual harassment and violence much thought. But after seeing a presentation about the problem two years ago, he realized that as an elected official, father and husband, he needed to step up and get involved.

That talk from a prevention advocate opened McDonough's eyes to the way that contemporary culture encourages exploitation and violence toward women. The evidence is widespread. Some video games actually reward players for attacking women, and sadistic pornography is easily accessible online. Today McDonough gives talks about the issue and promotes training and awareness among other policymakers. Getting more people like him involved in the effort to combat sexual violence is the worthy purpose of the Minnesota Summit to Prevent Sexual Violence to be held Friday in St. Paul.

Five state departments including the Department of Health joined with the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault to sponsor the first meeting of its kind in the nation. Sponsors invited more than 100 leaders from business, government, foundation and faith organizations to help change cultural attitudes.

The idea is to widen the circle of knowledge and understanding about the issue to prevent harassment and violence before they happen.

Those who work with victims define the problem as using sexual actions or words that are unwanted or harmful to other people. Sexual exploitation involves actions in which a person achieves sexual gratification, financial gain or advancement by abusing another person's sexuality.

Victims clearly suffer, and so do the rest of us. According to a health department report, sexual assault cost Minnesotans more than $8 billion in 2005, or about three times more than costs related to drunken driving. The estimated expenses include medical and mental health care, other victims services, lost productivity, court costs and effects such as sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancies and substance abuse.

With the help of $800,000 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the health department and partner organizations developed a five-year strategy to address the issue. Goals of the plan include strengthening social norms that encourage healthy, respectful relationships, prevention training, and using data and best practices to reduce sexual violence.

You don't have to be a state agency or business leader to make a difference in combating sexual violence. Individuals and grass-roots groups can also get involved by speaking out against degrading practices such as violent video games or other sex-based messages and marketing. And individuals can discuss and promote respectful behavior and challenge harassing remarks.

Sexual violence prevention workers liken their efforts to antismoking efforts and promoting seat-belt use. An awareness campaign coupled with appropriate laws helped society understand the costs and health and safety threats. That, in turn, changed behavior. A similar attitude shift could reduce incidents of verbal sexual harassment, rape, battering and other forms of sexual violence.