Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged Monday to allocate NIS 30 million to battle sexual violence and prostitution at the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of Women.

Olmert participated in Monday's panel discussion because he also holds the welfare portfolio.

NIS 15 million will be allocated to psychological support for victims of sexual violence, while the remaining NIS 15 million will go to battling the prostitution problem.

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The total amount will be divided over the next two years.

Olmert said this is the first time the government intends to implement a comprehensive plan which includes the prostitution problem.

The plan is a collaboration of the Welfare Ministry, the Public Security Ministry, the Justice Ministry, and the Education Ministry. The project aims to diminish the scope of prostitution and to aid women seeking to break away from the vicious circle of prostitution.