Despite the decrease of certain crimes reported in the Knesset publication, the Association of Rape Crisis in Israel reported an increase in sex offense reports.
By TZVI JOFFREDemonstrators gather in Tel Aviv on Sunday in support of a 16-year-old victim of a gang rape in Eilat. August 2020 (photo credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)
During the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak, reports of online crimes, sexual harassment and robbery dropped, while reports of domestic violence increased compared to the same period in 2019, according to data released for International Women's Day by the Knesset Research and Information Center on Monday.Israel Police reported a decrease in the number of cases opened concerning sexual offenses against women and the Health Ministry reported a decrease in the number of cases filed at Acute Care Units (ACU) at five hospitals, showing a decrease in the number of reports of sexual offenses.Despite the decrease of certain crimes reported in the Knesset publication, the Association of Rape Crisis in Israel reported an 80% increase in reports on their WhatsApp service, a 50% increase on their online service and a 30% increase on their phone service. The 105 hotline also reported an increase in the number of reports of online sexual abuse and online bullying, according to the Association of Rape Crisis in Israel.In April, May and June, the number of reports of sexual abuse to the Association of Rape Crisis increased, with the number of reports rising 43% in June 2020 compared to June 2019.In November, the Knesset Committee on Advancing the Status of Women reported that sexual abuse cases rose by 33% in Israel during the pandemic.According to the Knesset report published on Monday, the rate of women who reported feeling secure in general dropped slightly during the pandemic, while the rate of women who reported feeling safe when walking alone in the dark grew by almost 10%, according to the report.Despite the decrease in reports of various crimes and sexual offenses during the pandemic, the rate of domestic violence rose by 25%-30% during the coronavirus outbreak, with a significant spike in May and June amid a public campaign to encourage reporting such incidents.The number of cases of violence between spouses also grew during the outbreak, with the total number of cases rising by 13%, the number of physical violence cases rising by 9%, the number of threats of violence rising by 17% and the number of sex offenses rising by 13%, compared with 2019. The overall number of cases of violence and threats of violence in the public arena and at home stayed about the same in 2020.The report stressed that it is still toם early to examine the long-term effects of the coronavirus crisis, but that it is already clear that women have been and continue to be affected by the pandemic in ways that men were not."In view of this, the importance of integrating the gender perspective in formulating the policy for dealing with the virus and exiting the crisis is increasing," wrote the report. "Against this background, various international bodies - including the UN, the OECD and the European Parliament - are calling for the adoption of a gender-sensitive approach in shaping crisis management policies and strategies; an approach that takes into account the inequalities and gender gaps that have intensified during the crisis."The report stressed concerns that that if appropriate action is not taken to address the gender specific issues created by the pandemic, progress made recent decades concerning advancing the status of women could halt and gender inequality may not just stop narrowing, but may even grow.Tamar Beeri contributed to this report.
