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

The Israeli Independent Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

One out of five children in Israel suffers sexual abuse, according to a survey conducted in 2011-2014 (Lev-Wiesel and Eisikovits, 2016). Scholars in the field agree that the exact number of child victims of sexual abuse cannot be estimated, and that the phenomenon is under-reported. In other words, its scope is broader than the existing data (Allnock & Barns, 2011; Habetha et al., 2012; Finkelhor, 2008). The severe consequences of child sexual abuse are influenced, among other factors, by social stigma and the public discourse on the issue. The abuse causes victims significant losses, above all the loss of their childhood and the loss of personal and inter-personal agency (Kays-Ebrahim et al., 2021). Due to negative social perceptions and a negative public discourse, these losses are often not properly recognized by society and the environment (Bloom, 2000a; 2000b). This process leaves survivors to cope with repressed and internalized grief – which generates negative self-attributions such as shame, guilt, a negative self-image, and self-blame. These attributions cause serious harm to the psychological well-being of survivors, who must address the consequences of the abuse they suffered in terrible isolation (Bloom, 2007; Brits et al., 2021; Katz et al., 2021). The inquiry was initiated in recognition of the crucial importance of society’s attitude and response to child sexual abuse and of the public discourse on the subject.

The Israeli Independent Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

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