Sexual assault victims and survivors of prostitution who appear before National Insurance Institute medical panels will be able to request special accommodations, such as examination by a female doctor, appearing by video, or, in some cases, having their case reviewed without appearing at all.
The changes were approved this week by the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court in a decision handed down on Tuesday and publicized on Wednesday.
The case was brought by four people who had experienced sexual assault or prostitution and were represented by the Justice Ministry’s Legal Aid Department. They argued that the NII’s medical appeals process was not properly adapted for people with sexual trauma.
For many, medical panels are a necessary step in receiving disability benefits or other social rights. But for survivors of sexual assault, the process can be especially difficult.
It may require them to speak about intimate trauma, undergo questioning by doctors, or attend a formal hearing in a setting that can feel intimidating or triggering.
The appeal argued that while some accommodations existed at the first stage of such medical panels, they were not properly available later in the process, when people appealed decisions and appeared before higher-level medical committees.
Following the case, the NII, the Health Ministry, and other state bodies agreed to changes meant to make the process more sensitive to survivors of sexual trauma.
New system to better accommodate survivors
Under the new system, when NII knows that a person appearing before a medical committee has experienced sexual assault, that information will be marked in the internal system so the case can be handled more carefully.
If the person asks for a female doctor to be part of the panel, NII will try to grant the request, depending on whether a female doctor is available in the relevant medical field and location.
In suitable cases, the committee may also consider holding the hearing via video or deciding the case based on medical documents alone, without requiring the person to attend in person.
The changes will apply to medical appeals committees dealing with general disability, work injuries, victims of hostile acts, and disabled children.
The case also leads to upcoming changes in the training of doctors who serve on NII medical committees.
A professional committee set up through the Israel Medical Association recommended adding training on sexual trauma and other types of trauma. Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov adopted the recommendations, and the new material is expected to be added to the training program for medical panel doctors beginning in the next academic year.
The training is expected to include how to identify trauma, ask sensitive questions, conduct physical examinations in a trauma-aware way, and communicate respectfully with applicants.
Judge Rachel Barag-Hirshberg approved the agreements and made them binding. She noted that the people who brought the case had endured sexual assault and prostitution, and still gathered the strength to seek recognition of their social rights through NII.
Before closing the case, the judge wrote that the bodies involved had shown an understanding of the need for a more tailored response for survivors of sexual trauma, so that they could better access basic social rights.
'Better decisions for victims'
Legal Aid Department head Nochi Politis said the ruling showed the importance of public authorities working together to create systems that place crime victims at the center.
“The development of dedicated responses promotes more proper proceedings and better decisions for victims,” she said, adding that the department represents sexual assault victims at no cost and without an income test, from the stage of filing a complaint.
Att. Yael Kasten-Rabsky, who heads the NII field at the Legal Aid Department, said the decision advanced “a more accessible, sensitive and adapted system” for survivors of sexual trauma.
Att. Anat Rubio-Kimmelman, who represented the survivors together with attorney Nava Eilon, said that allowing a survivor to be examined by a woman could make a significant difference.
In many cases, she said, survivors were unable or unwilling to speak freely with a male examiner because of their post-traumatic stress, but were not given a real choice.
That difficulty became even sharper after the October 7 attacks, she said, which exposed professionals to especially severe cases. With the new training and accommodations, she said, survivors should have a fairer chance to make their case and receive the rights they are entitled to.