Israeli Government Approves Establishment of Dedicated Sexual Assault Complaint Centers Seven Years After Recommendation
The Israeli government has approved the creation of seven specialized centers for filing complaints related to sexual offenses, aiming to address the gap between the approximately 50 annual calls to sexual assault helplines and the roughly 6,500 formal police complaints filed each year. These new centers will operate similarly to the existing "Beit Lin" centers designed for minors who are victims of sexual crimes, but will serve adult victims. Unlike Beit Lin, the new centers will be managed by the police and the Community Security Authority, with funding allocated through the Ministry of National Security rather than the Ministry of Welfare. Both ministries will collaborate, alongside the Ministry of Health, within an inter-ministerial steering committee. The Ministry of Welfare will contribute expertise on psychosocial aspects, and 14 police investigator positions will be dedicated to these centers. The government decision did not specify when the centers will open.
This initiative revives recommendations from a 2019 committee led by retired judge Deborah Berliner, which examined obstacles faced by sexual assault victims in the criminal justice process. The committee found that despite progress in law enforcement attitudes over recent decades, victims and their families still endure significant emotional difficulties throughout the legal process, from reporting to prosecution and trial. Many complain of insensitive treatment by police, including investigations conducted by untrained officers, lack of privacy, unnecessary medical examinations, and forced confrontations with perpetrators without protection.
The committee recommended establishing these dedicated centers to centralize services, including social workers, police investigators, doctors, and legal aid professionals. This approach aims to reduce the trauma of repeatedly recounting the assault to multiple agencies, thereby preventing further harm and streamlining the complaint process. The approval comes as the 25th Knesset is set to dissolve, with the issue previously advanced by MK Son Harel Malka.
