The Israel Police opened 5,333 investigations into suspected sexual offenses in 2021 in what was an 18% increase over 2020.
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According to police data, the number of investigations opened in 2021 was also significantly more than those opened in 2018 or 2019, when around 4,500 were opened.
Twenty-one percent of investigations into reported sexual offenses over the last four years concerned allegations of rape, 25% concerned sexual harassment, and 49% concerned indecent acts. Additional offenses investigated by police included statutory rape, public indecency, and lewd acts in public.
Twenty-one percent of complaints filed in 2021 into alleged sexual offenses remain under investigation, while 19% have either been closed or are in the process of being shelved. Just 1% of investigations resulted in a verdict.
According to police data, 49% of sexual offense investigations opened between 2018 and 2021 were either shelved or in the process of being shelved, while the same was true of 61% of those opened between 2018 and 2020. Less than 10% of all investigations opened between 2018 and 2019 resulted in any kind of verdict.
"The sharp spike in the number of sexual offenses investigated by police is proof that despite increasing awareness in our society, the phenomenon of sexual assault and harassment is not about to disappear," attorney Yaara Reshef, an expert in representing victims of crime, said.
According to Reshef, the fact that only one in every 10 investigations opened by the police results in a ruling "is a disturbing phenomenon that could prove to be dangerous."
"The State of Israel in general, and the law enforcement and justice systems in particular, must do everything they can to ensure those who have fallen victim to sexual offenses file a complaint against their attacker or harasser. All those victims of sexual offenses must know that" despite the many difficulties, "it will all pay off and allow them to come full circle" and have those who hurt them pay for their actions, she said.
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