Israel: New survey reports 140,000 women victims of sexual harassment in 2018

In wake of the upcoming International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has published results of a survey attesting to the number of assault on women in Israel in 2018.

According to a survey of a representative sample of the Israeli population aged 20 and over, some 336,000 women were harmed by various offenses, including 140,000 who were sexually harassed.

Around 15,000 have been affected by a sexual offense such as indecent assault, rape or attempted rape, and 37,000 women reported of workplace harassment, 13,000 of them by a supervisor. About 95 percent of the sexual harassment victims say they did not file a police complaint because they felt ashamed to talk about it, or did not want to bother police.

According to the CBS, 68,000 women are victims of domestic violence or threats of violence - a higher number than male victims of the same crimes - 66.1% against 33.9%.

In 2018, 6,488 women assisted with 113 violence treatment centers across the country. A new center is expected to open in Tel Aviv next year, and another three over the next few years.

Since 2004, 163 women have been murdered by their spouses, only 50 percent being widely known.