Knesset Gives First Reading Approval to Extend Statute of Limitations for Sex Crimes Against Minors

The Knesset plenum approved overnight Thursday, in a unanimous first reading, a bill to extend the statute of limitations for sex offenses committed against minors. Under the proposal, the limitation period would be extended until age 48, compared with age 38 or 43 today, a step that would allow thousands more survivors to exercise their right to their day in court. The bill will now be sent for discussion to the joint committee of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and the Committee on the Advancement of the Status of Women, ahead of its second and third readings.

One of the bill’s most notable features was the broad cooperation between coalition and opposition lawmakers. It was submitted by MK Limor Son Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit), MK Eliyahu Revivo (Likud), and, alongside them, Efrat Rayten, Merav Cohen, Karin Elharrar and Sharon Nir from the opposition. The bill was approved after lengthy preparatory work that included meetings with survivors, professional discussions and negotiations with the Justice Ministry.

“There are issues that must be above every political dispute,” Son Har Melech said, thanking the lawmakers who partnered on the proposal. At the end of her remarks, she dedicated special words to the survivors who accompanied the process: “During the work on the law we met brave survivors. People who for years carried the pain alone. Some told us they needed decades before they were able to speak. When you hear their stories, you immediately understand that this law is essential.”

Yaakov Sela, head of the Knesset lobby for preventing sexual abuse and himself a survivor of sex offenses who helped advance the bill, said: “Sexual abuse accompanies survivors for many years, and often a long time passes before they are able to reveal what they went through. Extending the statute of limitations is an important step that gives more survivors the opportunity to get justice.”