Israel has seen a spike in domestic violence since restrictions were first put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus, according to data released by the Welfare Ministry ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to be marked on Wednesday.
According to the Welfare Ministry, 7,200 people sought the assistance of its domestic violence hotline in 2020, a nearly threefold increase over the 2,530 who did so last year.
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Between January and October 2020, 2,885 domestic violence cases were recorded in the local authorities' social services departments, a 22% increase over the previous year. Twenty percent of those cases had been previously unknown to social services.
Since January, 20 women have been murdered in Israel, 12 of them at the hands of their partners. In 2019, 23 women were killed, 16 by their partners, and 7 by other family members. Since 2004, 180 women have been murdered by their partners.
Since the first lockdown was put in place, the Welfare Ministry has expanded the hotline's services by allowing women to report instances of domestic violence via text message. In addition, a hotline for men suffering from domestic violence has also been established. The ministry has also created a digital questionnaire that allows women and their close associated to anonymously check whether they are in a situation that sets off red flags and then offers them a variety of courses of action to take to protect themselves.
The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel also published its data on sexual assault for 2019-2020. According to the association, crisis centers saw a 24% increase in the number of people who sought help compared to 2019. The main increase took place during the first wave between April and June when the crisis centers fielded 16,515 calls from victims, a 37% increase over 2019. The largest spike took place in June, when the centers saw a 43% increase in calls following an easing of restrictions that made it easier for women to seek help. The association further noted that between April and May, when many people began working from home, Israel saw a significant increase in the number of police complaints filed for posting and disseminating images and video files of a sexual nature.
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ARCCI Executive Director Orit Sulitzeanu explained: "The lockdown, which was meant to protect our safety, made dangerous homes more dangerous. Unfortunately, we need to take into account that what has been exposed up until now is just the tip of the iceberg. We will continue to see the repercussions of this current crisis for months and even years to come," she said.
Welfare Minister Itzik Shmuli said that in the last six months, "We opened and expanded many services in order to tackle the incredible surge in domestic violence offenses during the corona [outbreak]. Under my guidance, 60 additional units for the prevention of domestic violence are being established all over the country, and four additional emergency centers, transitional housing, and shelters will be opened, and a significant increase in new slots and flexible budgets."
