Abstract:
* Translation: Hannah Katsman
In this survey, we present details of the scope of welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse in the municipal authorities in Israel, distributed according to Jewish sector, as of the end of 2020. The distribution of the statistics according to sector was determined according to the type of Jewish educational supervision system under which they study today, or as children (national, national-religious, haredi). Most of the welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse are students in the educational system, aged 3-18, and therefore the data regarding this group is emphasized.
These are the main findings:
General details: The rate of welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse is higher among students in the national-religious system. For every thousand students in the national-religious educational system, 2.39 are welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse. This is higher than in the haredi educational system (1.98), and twice as high as in the national educational system (1.04). Therefore, in 2020, while 19% of the students in the Jewish educational system from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade study in the national-religious system, 29% of the welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse came from that sector. 26% of the students in the Jewish educational system studied in the haredi educational system, while comprising 34% of the welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse.
Gender: The rate of female welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse is higher than the rate of males, but along the religious–secular axis one can see a correlation between the level of religious observance and the percentage of male welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse, especially among children. Among male and female students in the national system (age 3-18) who are welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse, boys make up about a third (31%), while in the national-religious sector, boys make up almost half of welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse (48%), and in the haredi sector boys make up more than half of welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse (53%). Therefore, for every thousand male students in the national-religious education system, there are 2.3 welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse, compared to 2.07 boys in the haredi system and 0.61 in the national system.
Type of municipality: Among the entire population, one can see a higher rate of welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse living in regional councils (rural settlements), but this is especially noticeable among the national-religious: 40% of welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse that are students or graduates of the national-religious system live in regional councils, while it is estimated that only 24% of students and graduates of this system live in regional councils. Among students and graduates of the national system, 19% of the welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse live in regional councils, while it is estimated that 16% of the students and graduates of the national system live in regional councils. A minority of students and graduates of the haredi educational system live in regional councils, but there as well, one sees a higher rate of welfare service users as a result of sexual abuse living in regional councils in proportion to their numbers in the population.
