Last update - 00:00 03/07/2007
Calls to rape crisis centers increase in wake of Katsav plea deal
By Tamara Traubmann, Haaretz Correspondent
Hotlines for victims of sexual harassment reported Tuesday a sharp increase in calls to their centers following the press release of former president Moshe Katsav's plea bargain.
Between last Wednesday night and Monday morning, Haifa's rape crisis center hotlines received 96 calls, as opposed to 5-9 calls on a regular day. Jerusalem centers received 90 calls, and Tel Aviv's hotline, which usually gets only a few calls a day, received 200 calls between Thursday and Monday. Other centers nationwide also reported an increase in calls to their hotline, except for the Kiryat Shmona center and hotlines for religious women.
Some of the women calling were inquiring as to what ways they could protest publicly against Katsav and the plea bargain. In some cases, the call to the hotline is the first step on the way to filing a complaint with police.
A.'s testimony at the press conference held after the announcement of the plea bargain, and her call to victims of sexual abuse to "not complain. Don't turn to governmental authorities, they won't help with anything," raised concern with hotline officials that the number of women filing complaints would decrease.
"Will there be a decrease of complaints to police? I don't know, we're hearing different things, " said Sharon Mayvski, spokeswoman for the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. "There are some who say that there is no point in going to the police, because there isn't any real legal aid, and there are those that feel that precisely now is the time to report to an attorney," she said.
The crisis centers say that every time the subject of sexual harassment arises in the media, an increase of hotline calls is reported, marking the first step in dealing with the attack. Still, only 18-22 percent of women who turn to help file a complaint with the police. The amount of women filing reports depends partly on the way the court system deals with victims of sexual harassment.