According to newspaper Dagbladet, police are searching for a man in a duffel coat and on Friday will release a sketch of what the suspect may look like.
"Of course people feel unsafe when things like this happen. Catching the assailant will have the most to say about how safe people feel," said police commissioner Anstein Gjengedal.
Oslo City Council leader Erling Lae said that freedom of movement was a fundamental liberty, and that he realized the extent of the problem late one night in the city while walking home behind a woman.
"When I walked faster, she did too, and then I understood she was terrified. It is important to fight this basic insecurity," Lae said, and believes the city can do its part.
"We must improve street lighting. We know the safest streets are those pulsing with life. We should think about this when closing off streets to traffic," Lae said.
Police commissioner Gjengedal is not convinced that lighting will help fight rapes.
"It is typical that the women is followed and perhaps attacked where the assailant finds it most suitable," Gjengedal said, and advises women not to go home alone at night, and to walk where there are plenty of people.
"One can say that it is sad that women have to take such precautions but we live in a metropolis. Police cannot cover the entire city at any given time and there are people who hunt women that they can rape. Women should think about how they are getting home, and perhaps buy a defense spray," Gjengedal said.
