The Israeli Independent Public - Abstract of the Inquiry Report - December 2021

can assist the child in prevention, identification, response, and treatment. (5) Based on this recognition of the importance and centrality of the education system, survivors expressed their anguish regarding the absence of the education system from the range of service providers after the abuse is revealed . Survivors attested that from the moment they reported the abuse to a confidant in the education system, due to the “sanctity of the investigation,” that person disappeared from their lives and never mentioned the abuse or spoke of it again. Among the survivors, this disregard and disappearance was experienced as extremely harmful, leaving them feeling alone and isolated in an impossible struggle for survival. | 4. The welfare system Most of the testimonies submitted to the inquiry described stories of abuse that were not reported to the authorities in childhood. Out of all the testimonies, only in 17% of cases, the abuse was reported and the welfare authorities became involved. In these cases, two central themes emerged: the survivors’ perception of the welfare system, and their experiences in the child protection system, of which the welfare system is a part. The survivors’ testimonies yield a number of practical recommendations regarding changes that should be implemented in the welfare services to promote child protection and intervention in cases of sexual abuse: (1) awareness of children’s rights in the welfare system should be promoted, leading to decision making based on children’s rights. Intervention processes should include child participation in a manner that suits the child’s life contexts. (2) The welfare system should shift its focus to child protection , making the investigation of sexual abuse one element in the process, rather than its essence. To this end, survivors indicated the utility of exemption committees (in which welfare officers request a temporary exemption from reporting the case to the police so as to allow more time for treatment) and their potential for the appropriate protection of children. They also noted the importance of accessibility of child advocacy centers for all child victims. (3) The child investigation practices , both in the Child Forensic Investigation

The Israeli Independent Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

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