Increase in murders of Arab women in 2016
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, the number of Arab women murdered in 2016 by family members and spouses has increased since 2015; New campaign seeks to use the workplace as a means of aiding victims of domestic violence.
According to data, Arab women account for six out of seven women murdered by family members who are not their spouses and more than a third of all women murdered by their spouses in total.
According to data, in 2016 three Arab women were murdered by their husbands and another seven were murdered by family members who were not their spouse.
"One has to be very careful when drawing conclusions from homicides, because one additional murder can have a significant effect on the distribution. Yet, in the last three years, we have seen an increase in the amount of Arab women murdered," explains Said Tali, a national inspector for the handling of domestic violence at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services.
According to Tali, "The higher proportion of Arab women murdered by their spouses and their family members is a defining characteristic of Arab society. The data further suggest that the rate of women from the former Soviet Union who were murdered in the last four years—including 2016—is high in comparison to the rest of the population, and immigration and cultural norms in the countries from which they came contribute to the risk of violence against women."
Police statistics that were published this week show a 60 percent rise in the amount of domestic violence cases that were opened in 2015. In the same year, more than 14,000 citizens contacted 103 different centers throughout the country for the prevention of domestic violence. Out of all 14,000 applicants, only 11,000 were treated, of which a small minority were men.
Under the slogan "recognize the signs—working against violence" and on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Naamat organization launched a new campaign to raise awareness in the workplace for female victims of violence that continue to go to work.
Galia Wallach, Director of Naamat, said, "There is no doubt that the workplace can act as significant support for this issue. Providing support and an open door to the facts by employers, companies and colleagues will be able to position the workplace as a safe place where women can vent and share without fear, and get a help on the way to the exit from the cycle of violence."
