Police: Very low number of sexual assault files get to court
Of 238 cases of domestic sexual assault, only 15 indictments are filed; of 73 cases of illegal intercourse with consent, only 12 indictments are filed. Rape centers: System enhances victims' feelings of shame
The decisive majority of files of suspected illegal intercourse with consent are closed without reaching a conviction of the suspect, according to police and State Attorney data revealed Monday to Ynet.
According to the statistics, in 2012 there were 73 files of suspected illegal intercourse with consent, but 55 were closed because of a lack of evidence, a lack of public interest, a well-known suspect or a lack of culpability. Only 12 ended with convictions, one was acquitted, and another five files were listed as "other."
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The world is marking this month the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children's Rights Day, but the authorities have a long way to go to efficiently deal with the problem.
The stats, which were given to the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel in response to a parliamentary query that the State Attorney raised, show that in 2012, the State Attorney dealt with 238 crimes related to family offenses. Of those, 126 files have been closed: 106 because of lack of evidence, lack of public interest, a well-known suspect or a lack of culpability. Fifteen ended in a conviction, one with an acquittal and four as "other."
That same year the police had 2,187 files open for sex crimes against minors (out of 5,085 sexual assaults files open in the police). Out of that statistic, 16% of the files (359) had a family member involved in the alleged crime.
In general, about half of the sex crimes against minors had children under the age of 12 involved, while the rest had 13-17 year olds involved.
Orit Sulitzeanu, the executive director of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, said she was worried about the statistics for future complaints.
"Victims that have already broke out of their circle of isolation, and decided to deal with it through the courts despite the difficulty and fear in submitting a complaint, find themselves time and time again up against a framework that blames them and increases the feelings of embarrassment and silence," she said to Ynet. "The data demonstrates why female victims and victims of sexual assaults have doubts whether to turn to the police."
Sulitzeanu said that only few women dare to complain against the person that assaulted them.
"In order to shatter the silence and embarrassment surrounding the sexual assault, and in order to encourage women to complain, the government authorities must stand next to the victims, take drastic measures against the offenders and offer help and support," she said. "Only when women feel they have an address and the authorities are treating their complaints seriously will it be possible to reduce the numbers of this occurrence."
Activists of the association will mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women this Monday evening in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv.
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