Advocacy & Policy Development

The Commission on the Status of Women advocates for gender equity and works to develop policy recommendations that address the needs of women and girls in our community.

Cambridge Coalition Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation

The Commission convenes a coalition of community stakeholders working to prevent and address commercial sexual exploitation in our city.

This diverse group unites: small businesses, nonprofit organizations, Cambridge Public Schools, the CARE Team, faith communities, police, and lived experience experts including, My Life My Choice, Amirah, HEAT, Safe Exit, ATASK, and Eva Center.

Our coalition is Cambridge's first comprehensive, coordinated response to commercial sexual exploitation. The coalition’s priorities include:

• Implementing prevention strategies that protect targeted youth and adults
• Increasing awareness and recognition of exploitation throughout the city
• Creating pathways to safety and healing for survivors
• Training businesses, schools, and other city entities to recognize and respond to trafficking
• Building a safer Cambridge where exploitation cannot grow

Guided by survivor voices and evidence-based approaches, the coalition recognizes that poverty, homelessness, addiction, and trauma are the root causes of sexual exploitation and must be addressed. This initiative centers accountability for buyers while providing compassionate support for those exploited. The effort aims to make Cambridge a leader in prevention that other communities can follow. 

Identity, Relationships, and Media

Responding to the requests of youth-serving departments and organizations in the City, the Cambridge Women’s Commission developed Identity, Relationships, and Media: An activity guide for Cambridge’s youth-serving programs (download the pdf) to address gender and gender stereotypes through the lens of identity, relationships, and media for middle and high school age youth.

In order to build a more resilient, healthy Cambridge, many of our local youth-serving organizations have taken on the responsibility of meeting the social and emotional needs of youth in their programs, leading them to discuss larger and often difficult social issues that affect their youth: race, gender, sexuality, and abuse.

Recognizing that identity is intersectional and complex, the Commission emphasized a holistic approach for each one of the activities. The activity guide also includes a section devoted to gender-focused programs in Cambridge as well as additional resources for youth workers and for youth.

Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Prevention Initiative (DGBVPI)

The Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Initiative emerged from a collaborative vision of community members into a critical municipal priority. After years of dedicated advocacy and strategic planning by the Commission and others, the Initiative now resides in the Office of Equity and Inclusion, reflecting a deep city-wide commitment to addressing systemic violence. The Commission continues to play a pivotal role, serving on both Steering and Executive Committees, actively working to engage and mobilize Cambridge's diverse communities to challenge and change attitudes, behaviors, policies, and practices that perpetuate gender-based violence.