With more and more Israelis forced to stay at home with their families 24/7, it is worrying that there has been a  dramatic rise in the number of reported cases of domestic abuse. Over the course of February, there was a 5 percent increase in the number of reported cases of domestic abuse when compared to the same month in 2019. While the numbers have not yet been tabulated for the month of March, when the home regulations began, authorities are expecting that number to rise even more.

According to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, as a result, police are being diligent and strict with any reports of domestic abuse. The same will be holding true for social workers across the country. The regulations in Israel that have mandated increased social distancing and have caused many families to enter into financial distress have created a breeding ground for acts of violence according to many organizations that deal with the issue on regular basis.

According to Erdan, the police will be monitoring the homes of families in which women have reported feeling threatened or at risk.

The Ma’ariv website reported that more than 60 percent of the social workers operating in the field of domestic abuse are not working due to regulatory constraints under the coronavirus regulations. This comes in spite of many branches of the social work industry being listed as essential work.

The Social Worker’s Union stated last week that “These social workers [who are no longer working] perform critical and unique services that respond to populations that without regular treatment and who may very well be harmed or harm others without the help that these workers provide.”

According to a recent report that appeared in Globes, Joint List MK Aida Touma-Suleiman wrote a letter this week Welfare Minister Ofir Akunis, and requested that he fund women’s shelters due to the current crisis, urgently.

Akunis wrote: “The instructions of the Health Ministry and of the Prime Minister’s Office to stay at home… are making relief organizations and women’s shelters face challenges they have not yet known,” she wrote.

Women’s organizations throughout the country reported a steep rise in reports of domestic abuse in 2019 and over the course of the calendar year, 13 women were murdered in domestic violence incidents.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)