The Rackman Center participated in an emergency discussion in the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of Women’s Status about the alarming rise in cases of femicide in Israel.
“After a murder, society cries out loud. Everyone starts checking what could have been done and whether it could have been prevented. But it’s too late. Murder is the extreme outcome of living with domestic violence. Our mission must be to identify and prevent violence already in the early stages,” said Attorney Vered Bar, Director of the Public Policy and Legislation Unit at the Rackman Center.
It’s important to remember that the current government opposed joining the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention). Instead, it committed to work toward eradicating violence. But that needs to happen NOW, not when it’s too late!
These are our recommendations for immediate implementation:
- The State of Israel has no comprehensive definition of “domestic violence”. The most urgent priority must be amending legislation and establishing a uniform, binding and comprehensive definition of this term “domestic violence” because without a clear definition of the problem it is impossible to address it. A bill, drafted by the Rackman Center, has already been submitted by MK Pnina Tamano-Shata (Committee Chair) together with MK Merav Ben-Ari and additional MKs. It must be advanced immediately.
- Legal aid must be provided, at the state’s expense, to female victims of violence. This way women will be able to leave violent relationships and rebuild their lives.
- The Ministry of Welfare must take part in the process of approving applications for gun licenses. It is unacceptable that the state invests effort in fighting violence while allowing so many people to carry weapons without a complete background check including any history of domestic violence.
- Raising awareness about the option to request a Protection Order with electronic monitoring. Female victims of violence are not familiar with this helpful tool that can save lives. Despite hundreds of violations of Protection Orders each year, only a small percentage of orders are enforced through electronic monitoring.
Since the beginning of 2025, 16 women have been murdered due to domestic violence.* We must not become accustomed to these numbers. We must not ignore these news stories. We urge government ministers to take responsibility and act immediately!
* Data from שדולת הנשים בישראל
