Battle Creek called dangerous for women

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) - Forbes magazine has listed Battle Creek as one of its Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Women.

Battle Creek came in on the list at No. 9 out of 10 cities across the nation.

According to Forbes, 697 violent crimes out of 100,000 in the city -- home to about 136,000 people -- are directed at women.

The magazine also said 75 in 100,000 women in Battle Creek have been a victim of rape.

The rape figure is the fourth-highest on the list. Of the cities on the list, only Saginaw, Mich. and Achorage and Fairbanks, Alaska had a higher number of rapes per 100,000.

Forbes also noted that though Detroit did not make the list, it has already had 274 rapes this calendar year.

Michigan was the only state to have three cities on the list: Saginaw at No. 1, Flint at No. 6, and Battle Creek at No. 9.

Kayla Antes said she's seen the violence against women in Battle Creek.

"One of my friends kicked her boyfriend out of her house, and he came back and tried to burn the house down," said Antes. "She had to jump out of a second-story window."

In that recent case, police say, no one was injured and the suspect is in custody.

But the case is exceptional in one way -- it got reported.

Violence against women -- especially domestic violence -- is a crime that often happens in silence, according to Susan Ferguson of the domestic violence shelter SAFE Place.

Ferguson said one of her organization's main goals is to shed light on the issue and increase reporting of crimes.

"We try to do a lot of preventions," said Ferguson. "We would like to see those numbers go down because of that, but the other part of prevention is the more people learn about a topic, the more they might report it or know that now there is an issue that we need to report."

She said that the Forbes article may actually provide proof that efforts to increase reporting are working.

"Domestic and sexual violence are some of the most under-reported crimes in the country. So having a higher number of reported incidences might mean that we have people who are more comfortable reporting in this community," said Ferguson.

Calhoun County has a unique system: Sexual assaults are handled by a separate agency than domestic assaults. The two work hand-in-hand to raise awareness about violence against women and combat the problem. Both encourage women to report cases.

Each situation comes with it's own set of variables and the issue is far too complex to be satisfied with one report from a magazine.

But back out at the scene of the fire, just knowing about the report from Forbes makes Antes think twice.

"It makes me more aware and makes me more alert," said Antes.

--A gallery of the most dangerous cities and statistics (Forbes)--

The complete list:

10. Memphis, Tenn.
9. Battle Creek, Mich.
8. Lawton, Okla.
7. Pine Bluff, Ark.
6. Flint, Mich.
5. Redding, Calif.
4. Springfield, Ill.
3. Fairbanks, Alaska
2. Anchorage, Alaska
1. Saginaw, Mich.

The Forbes story said that Saginaw's rate of 76 rapes for every 100,000 in a city of 4,000 people plus it's high violent crimes rate of 870 in 100,000 made it the most physically dangerous for women in the country.

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Online:

Full story from Forbes

National FBI city-by-city rape and violent crime rates

Battle Creek women's shelters and advocacy groups:
 
SAFE Place shelter: 269.965.SAFE (7233)

Sexual Assault Services of Calhoun County: 888.383.2192

The Haven: 269.965.1148

Gracious Homes: 269.966.2947
 
The AAUW Michigan