96,000 children and teens aged 12-17 were sexually abused and NCC
estimates show that approximately 462,000 Jewish children (17.6% of all
children) have been sexually abused.
48.5% Of Israeli Non-Orthodox Jewish Children, 67.7% Of Israeli Arab Children, Victims Of Abuse Or Neglect, Study Says
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A new study by the Israel National Council for the Child (NCC) and Haifa University found that Israeli children are abused or neglected at a much higher rate than previously thought, Ynet reported.
The study did not include students in the state-Zionist Orthodox and haredi education systems (apparently due in part to a lack of cooperation from the rabbis who head them).
The study found that 48.5% of non-Orthodox Jewish children and 67.7% of Arab children suffered some form of abuse or neglect.
For example, 96,000 children and teens aged 12-17 were sexually abused and NCC estimates show that approximately 462,000 Jewish children (17.6% of all children) have been sexually abused.
But only 50,000 reports to child protection workers or police of all types of child abuse combined are made each year.
The most common abuse is emotional, defined, according to Ynet, as “parental cruelty, which is repeated systematically and distorts the sense of identity and esteem.”
399,212 Israeli children suffered emotional neglect; 370,322 suffered physical violence; and 225,870 were exposed to domestic violence.
Further:
68.2% of the children who experienced sexual harm confided in someone, as well as 63.5% of those who experienced physical harm; 68.8% of the children who were sexually abused confided in a family member, 67.6% told a friend, only 11.9% reported the abuse to a social worker; 6% to a doctor and 30.2% to a teacher or an advisor. Almost half of the children (43%) who reported and exposed the harm caused to them noted that the disclosure did not change their situation.
In most cases (81.3%), the children reported that they were abused by men, compared to 18.2% who reported women abusers. In 73.5% of the cases, the offender was familiar to the victim. Almost half of all sexual assaults in the Jewish sector occurred within the family, compared to two thirds of the assaults in the Arab sector. In 21.7% of the cases in the Jewish community, the offender was a relative (parent, grandparent or uncle).
“This is nothing short of an 'earthquake'. It appears that all we knew to this day about child abuse is just the tip of the iceberg,” NCC Executive Director Dr. Yitzhak Kadman reportedly said.
The study’s definitions:
Abuse: ongoing, systematic and deliberate cruelty that causes pain and suffering to the victim.
Physical Abuse: ongoing, systematic and deliberate cruelty that causes pain and suffering to the victim and is related to physical harm.
Emotional Abuse: parental cruelty that is systematically repetitive and distorts the sense of identity and esteem of the child.
Neglect: prolonged disregard of the physical or emotional needs of a child.
Sexual Abuse: ranges from sexual harassment to gang rape.
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37% Of Haredi Children Have Are Disabled, Government Says.
[Hat Tip: YBM.]