The number of reported incidents of sexual harassment in the Israel Defense Forces in 2018 came to 1,551, up from 1,482 reports of this nature made during 2017.
Briefing the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the issue on Tuesday, Brig. Gen. Sharon Nir, gender affairs adviser to the chief of staff, said that the data indicates that 993 of the incidents reported took place while soldiers were on duty, while 558 happened when they were on leave.
In 2017, 893 complaints involved incidents that took place on duty and 589 incidents that took place while soldiers were on leave.
Out of the reports filed in 2017, 24% of the cases were pursued and resulted in disciplinary action or criminal charges against the culprits, she said.
The number of reported incidents of sexual harassment in the military has been steadily growing since 2016 when 686 complaints were filed.
"The IDF is pursuing considerable measures to eliminate the social phenomenon of sexual abuse. The increase in these reports indicates that there is an increase in awareness of the legitimacy to report every case, whether it involves inappropriate statements or more serious physical acts," she said.
