New law allows sex abuse victims to speak out, give interviews
‘Those who need to hide are the criminals, not the victims,’ says justice minister, after cross-party support ends prohibition on publicity
Victims of sexual abuse will henceforth be able to speak out and take part in media interviews without the permission of a court, following Knesset approval Monday of an amendment to the law.
Until now, the penal code has prohibited publication of details that could identify the victim unless a judge approved a victim’s letter of consent to publicity or ruled that publicity was permissible because of special circumstances.
Victims — who previously could end up in jail for a year for speaking out — were generally identified in the media just by the first letter of their name.
“Those who need to hide are the criminals, not the victims,” said Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who pushed the bill forward. It passed second and third readings with 62 votes in favor and no opposition or abstentions.
Sexual abuse victims wishing to publicize their story will still have to sign a letter of consent, which a court will have to approve in cases of minors.
Shaked said the original law had created an absurd situation in which victims who spoke out were regarded as criminals and in which they were actually punished twice — once by the sexual assault itself, and a second time by having to keep their version of events under wraps.
The amendment grouped together bills submitted by several lawmakers, among them the Kulanu party’s Yifat Sasha-Biton and Merav Ben-Ari; Orly Levy-Abekasis (independent); Aliza Lavie, Yael German and Karine Elharrar of Yesh Atid; and Zionist Union’s Shelly Yachimovich, Yael Cohen-Paran and Hilik Bar.
Lavie said the amendment adapted the law to the needs of the real world and noted a huge increase in reports of sexual harassment of women worldwide since the start of the #MeToo movement.
The movement started spreading through social networks in October 2017 following sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“The numbers scream out the need for victims of sex crimes to break the silence and to receive exposure and social recognition,” Lavie said. “Each victim opens the door to the next, brings the issue to the fore and takes another important step toward rectifying society [by ridding it of] the terrible plague of harassment and sexual abuse.”
