Cambridge Sees Fewest Rapes

According to a recently released report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cambridge saw 12 rapes in 2004—the lowest number of “forcible rapes” out of all major cities.

Amounting to about one rape per 8,500 people, this figure is far below the national average for similarly sized cities. Yet FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said that, although Cambridge’s rape statistics are impressively low, rape has by no means disappeared.

By some measures, in fact, it has worsened nationwide. Although there was a national decline in total crime from 2003 to 2004, forcible rape increased by 0.8 percent.

And, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report, which compares crimes committed during the first half of 2003 and the first half of 2004, the number of forcible rapes in Cambridge increased from 3 to 7 during this period.

This may not even include all cases. According to Nancy M. Ryan, executive director of the Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women, rape—with an average reporting rate of less than 20 percent—is the most under-reported crime in the nation.

In spite of this recent increase, the number of reported rapes in Cambridge has dropped over the past 10 years from 35 in 1995.

Ryan said that the relatively low incidence of rape in Cambridge may come, in part, from the local security made available by the city and its universities.

“I can only say that in Cambridge we have put an enormous amount of energy into working with bar and club owners, wait staff, bartenders, and cab drivers in terms of watching out for predators and having strong police presence in areas where lots of young people are out for music, drinks, and a good time,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Yet Ryan said students still need to remain on their guards. Twenty-five percent of all college women are rape victims, according to a report of the Cambridge Police Department. Twenty-nine percent of rape victims are between the ages 12 and 17, and more than 80 percent are under 30.

“I wish the students I see walking through Cambridge were more conscious,” she wrote. “I stopped a young woman wearing a backpack just last week because she had on headphones and was not tuned in at all to the street. She was an easy target for someone looking to assault.”

She said that, while Harvard now offers a strong response program for rapes, this was not always case.

“Harvard has had a long history of dealing with rapes internally, through Administrative Boards, and not encouraging victims to report to the civil authorities,” she wrote. “That has changed, but was more true in the early 90s,”

Harvard’s Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR) was established in 2003 and provides confidential 24-hour assistance for students who have experienced sexual assault and related forms of interpersonal violence.

Ryan praises the progress that the OSAPR has made under director Susan Marine.

“Susan does extraordinary outreach during the school year and tries to be sure that every student knows what to do if he or she is raped and how to respond to a sexual assault or a dangerous situation,” Ryan wrote.

The remaining challenge in fighting rape on campus and throughout Cambridge, she said, lies in building a culture of respect.

“Creating an atmosphere of equality and respect helps to limit the social acceptance of power and domination in a sexual act,” she said.