Published: 4 October 2022
Last updated: 5 March 2024
A new study reveals dramatic data on sexual abuse victims from the religious Zionist sector.
Researcher Ariel Finkelstein analysed the scope and profile of sexual abuse victims in Israeli local authorities’ social services departments in 2020, by sector or stream.
In Israel, there are a number of educational streams: Secular public school (Mamlachti), religious public school (Mamlachti Dati) and ultra-Orthodox schools, which are either private or semi-private.
According to the survey, the rate of victims in the welfare services following sexual abuse is higher among the students from the religious public-school stream. For every 1000 students in the stream, there are 2.39 students who were treated in welfare services as a result of sexual abuse, higher than in ultra-Orthodox education (1.98), and more than double the amount in the secular publicschool stream (1.04).
The study found a correlation between religiosity and a higher proportion of males treated for sexual abuse, especially among children.
For every 1000 boys in the religious public school system, there are 2.3 who are treated in welfare services for sexual abuse, compared to 2.07 among those in ultra-Orthodox education and only 0.61 among boys in secular schools.
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Rate of sexual abuse of kids is highest among religious Zionist sector (Jerusalem Post)
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Photo: Boys in a National Zionist school (Lemaan Achai)
