Middle East

One in four women sexually harassed, assaulted in Israel

24/05/2020

According to a personal security survey, out of approximately 153,000 cases of sexual harassment in 2018, only 4,814 reported it to centers that provide help to victims of sexual violence.

By TAMAR BEERI
MAY 4, 2020

One in four women on average are sexually harassed and assaulted in Israel, but only 2%-5% report the incident to the police, according to the State Comptroller’s report released on Monday afternoon.

According to the personal security survey by the Internal Security Ministry, out of approximately 153,000 cases of sexual harassment in 2018, only 4,814 were reported to centers that provide help to victims of sexual violence. Of these, only 29 attackers were indicted for primarily or only sexual violence, while 129 indictments involved sexual misconduct of any sort.

Sexual harassment incidents between public workers and the general public are not sufficiently addressed by the government, the report claims. The treatment of sexual harassment in both the private and the public sector was seen as poor. The report insisted that the government must increase oversight on the subject.