The first six months of 2021 have seen a 43% drop in femicide compared to the same period last year, a study by Dr. Shalva Weil, a senior Researcher at The Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has found.
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Femicide, defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," is a brutal phenomenon that plagues all socioeconomic sectors in Israel.
Reports of domestic abuse grew particularly grim in 2020, as the lockdowns forced by the global pandemic resulted in a drastic increase in domestic violence cases.
Weil heads the Israeli Observatory on Femicide, a think tank that monitors these grim statistics in Israel with aim of creating a database that can assist authorities in eradicating the phenomenon.
The data shows that between January and July of 2021, eight women were murdered by their husbands or relative, compared to 14 in the corresponding period in 2020.
Weil explained that the growing awareness of domestic violence, mostly over several high-profile cases last year, has contributed to the decrease in femicide.
"The media reports about such violence, the reactions of politicians and the government that wants to change reality – have probably led to the encouraging results we have seen," she said.
The increased activity by women's groups and the growing public interest in this issue, mostly over media coverage of one particular case, has changed public perception of domestic violence, Weil said of what she called the "Shira Iskov effect."
Iskov, 31, survived a horrific attempted murder by her husband, Aviad Moshe, who beat her with a rolling pin, strangled her and stabbed her 20 times with a kitchen knife. Her life was spared thanks to Adi, a neighbor who heard her screams and heroically broke into the apartment, even before calling the police.
The case received extensive media coverage, as the story of Iskov recovery from the gruesome attack captured the nation's heart.
The two lit a torch during Israel's latest Independence Day ceremony and Iskov, who still receives threats from her now-imprisoned ex-husband, has become a leading advocate in the cause to eradicate domestic violence.
Weil's data found that on average, the victims in 2021 have been older – 50.1 compared to 39.6 the year before. So far, the oldest victim was 76 while the youngest was 27.
In terms of the victim's ethnic identity it appears that, similar to last year, the majority of victims (38%) were Arab or Druze.
In 25% of the cases, the victims were Russian Israelis and in one case, the victim was Ethiopian Israeli.
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