Abuse of women in sharper focus

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's demands that Egypt investigate the brutal sexual attack on CBS journalist Lara Logan sends a message much stronger than the need to bring the attackers to justice. It tells the world that the sexual abuse of women is intolerable.

While the assault on a high-profile television correspondent dramatically highlights the problem, Logan's ordeal fits a disturbing pattern in Egypt where an 2008 study found 83 percent of women reported sexual harassment.

And Egypt isn't unique. In Bangladesh last month, a 14-year-old girl bled to death days after a public flogging of 80 lashes ordered by the clerics and elders in her village. Even though the 40-year-old cousin of Hena Begum was found guilty of raping her, astoundingly, she too was found guilty of having sex outside of wedlock.

Violence against women isn't isolated to any part of the world or culture or regime of religious law.

Last week, 15 U.S. servicewomen and two servicemen joined a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Defense, claiming that "a culture of rape and sexual abuse" exists in the military. It says commanders fail to take allegations seriously and order victims to continue to serve with their abusers.

Clinton has sent a U.S. team to Egypt to work on the Logan investigation. A world outcry has made Bangladesh arrest Begum's torturers. This spotlight mustn't fade.