This is the third time since Oct. 7 that Israel has marked the official date of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, and the time has come to take stock of where we stand on this issue: How do we move forward in the endless struggle to secure recognition and justice for the victims of sexual violence on Oct. 7 and in Hamas captivity?
On the one hand, it seems that today there is no substantive dispute over the fact that, on that terrible Saturday and during the days of captivity, sexual violence was used extensively as a weapon of war. Among the Israeli civil society organizations that began operating immediately after Oct. 7 in response to the shock and pain were organizations whose purpose was to treat, assist, document and advance recognition and justice for the female and male victims of sexual violence. One of them is the Dina Project at the Rackman Center at Bar-Ilan University, of which I am one of the founders. It was born from the dust and ashes to amplify the voices of the silenced victims and to create a legal road map for prosecuting the perpetrators.
The UN, the organization with which we have a complex relationship, also earned an honorable mention on the positive side. As early as March 2024, Pramila Patten, the UN under-secretary-general, stated clearly and explicitly that sexual violence had been used extensively as a weapon of war on Oct. 7 and in captivity. Later, in August 2025, the UN secretary-general also recognized this when he added Hamas to the blacklist of organizations that use sexual violence as a weapon of war.
These, then, are the "successes" of the struggle so far. They are not many, but they are important, and their value must not be minimized. At the same time, there are also quite a few complex aspects that we must face head-on. First and foremost, to this day, there is relentless denial around the world of those crimes of sexual violence. In a lecture I gave last week to an international delegation of young people, specifically non-Jews, this was the central issue they themselves raised, asking for help in how to confront it.
On the other hand, as a society that endured an attack involving sexual violence and seeks recognition and justice, we must not close our eyes when allegations of sexual violence arise and dismiss them immediately as "antisemitism." Precisely we, as a society that endured the worst of all, are obliged to recall that there is an international legal duty to examine such claims. There is a duty to investigate thoroughly and draw the necessary conclusions based on the findings.
And finally, but most importantly: So far, nearly three years after the attack, we have heard nothing about any intention to prosecute the terrorists who took part in it for the crimes of sexual violence committed during and after it. Prosecution in Israel is a central and critical component on the road to recognition and justice. Avoiding it has catastrophic consequences, both for the way we treat the female and male victims, and strategically for the struggle for recognition and justice. In a world where the battle over justice, recognition and the national narrative is Sisyphean and perhaps endless, this is a critical component.
