About 5,500 female and male soldiers each year serve in the units of the Ministry of Internal Security, including the Israel Police, the Border Guard and the Prison Service (hereafter – the Israel Defense Forces). Recently, this unique service arrangement has been put on the public agenda, mainly against the background of the disclosure of the events that became known to the public as “The affair of the pimp in the guards at Gilboa prison”.
Here in Ashdod Net we brought another story, about the conviction of a former prison guard at Katziot prison, who was convicted in sexual harassment of two mandatory soldiers who served in the prison service and were on duty with him.
As part of the audit, various aspects of the mandatory service in the units of the Ministry of Defense were examined, including: the tasks assigned to the mandatory employees, the medical assistance provided to them, the training for the positions, the conditions of service to which they are entitledtheir protection and the degree of usefulness of their service.
Given the severity of the findings And since they were brought up in the days when the subject of the mandatory service of female soldiers outside the IDF, especially in the IDF, is on the public agenda, the State Comptroller decided that there is a place to prepare an interim report summarizing the findings that were brought up on the subject of protection and publish it to the public. The interim report presents weighty audit findings in regards to the protection of the soldiers who serve in the police, the MGB and the Shin Bet.
Some data on the mandatory service in the units of the Ministry of Internal Security
1,045 Obligatory police officers, most of them in patrol positions, call center operators and administrative positions; 74% of them (774) are women.
About 570 Mandatory employees of the Security Service, most of them as mandatory guards in the security wings of the prison facilities throughout the country; about 35% of them (196) are women.
1,907 Mandatory and released servants responded to questionnaires distributed by the State Comptroller’s Office (which are 14.4% of all recipients).
25% The percentage of female police officers, the National Guard and the Security Service who indicated in response to the questionnaires that they had experienced one or more sexual assaults during their service.
38% The percentage of mandatory maids in the Shevas who stated in response to the questionnaires that they had experienced one or more sexual assaults.
about 70% Of the injuries to the mandatory employees in the police, the MGB and the Security Service were committed by a permanent employee or a direct or indirect commander according to the questionnaires.
70% The proportion of the servicemen who indicated in their answers to the questionnaires that they filed a complaint about sexual harassment but the complaint was not dealt with at all or was dealt with in an unsatisfactory manner.
The serious situation that emerges from the report
Trends that emerged from the meetings and conversations with the mandatory servants – From the meetings and conversations with about 220 conscripts (female and male soldiers) it is possible to learn about three trends: harassing behavior of a sexual nature on the part of the security prisoners; The lack of backing from the commanding echelon for the duty guards when working with security prisoners; Inappropriate statements of a sexual nature by permanent servants towards the mandatory maids.
The rate of sexual assaults in the police, MGB and SHBS – One out of four mandatory maids who responded to the State Comptroller’s questionnaire (161 out of 644 respondents) stated that during her service – 24 months – she experienced one or more sexual assaults. It was found that the proportion of mandatory maids in the Shevas who responded that they had experienced sexual abuse was the largest – 38%, that is, about four out of ten mandatory maids who responded to the questionnaire stated that they had experienced one or more sexual abuse. It was also found that about 70% of the abuses of mandatory servants were committed by a permanent servant or commander: 52% of the servants (144) who answered that they had experienced sexual abuse stated that the perpetrator was a permanent servant (not a commander), and 19% of the servants (52) stated that the perpetrator was their direct or indirect commander.
The rate of reporting sexual assaults and satisfaction with their treatment – Less than half of the mandatory employees in the police, the Shin Bet and the MGB (96 out of 209, which is about 46%) who indicated in the questionnaires that they had experienced sexual abuse during their service – reported the abuse to some party in the organization in which they served or outside of it (Yohalam, commander, the center of the Jewish community and the like). 70% of the mandatory employees who chose to report the sexual assault replied that the complaint was not handled at all (26%) or handled inadequately (44%).
IDF research – According to an IDF study, 33% of female conscripts stated that since their enlistment they had been sexually harassed one or more times. Only 32% of them reported this to a relevant care provider. 49% of the female soldiers serving in the IDF who reported the harassment were satisfied with the handling of the complaint, And this is relative, according to the findings of the questionnaires, to 39% among the maids in the Shevast Police and 27% among the maids in the police. The audit revealed that the IDF does not publish the surveys it conducts to the public and does not present the findings to the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality in the Knesset The polls he conducted.
Police surveys – Surveys conducted by the police in 2016, 2018 and 2021, in which duty officers were asked if they had been sexually harassed during the past year, show that there has been a significant increase in reports of sexual harassment by duty officers, especially among women: 6.44% of duty officers reported that they were harassed by a police officer in 2021. These findings are not in line with the findings of the questionnaires, according to which 27% of the female police officers and 22% of the police officers stated that they had experienced one or more sexual assaults. The audit also revealed that the police do not publish the surveys they conduct and Presents to the Committee for the Advancement of Women’s Status and Gender Equality in the Knesset the findings of the surveys it conducted.
The rate of complaints and disciplinary indictments compared to the rate of duty officers in the police –
In 34% of the complaints received by the police (149 out of 442) and in 39% of the indictments against police officers (permanent employees) for offenses of sexual harassment or behavior unbecoming of a police officer that were submitted to the Police Disciplinary Court (17 out of 44) in 2019 – 2021 The victims were mandatory employees, even though their proportion of the entire police personnel system (including volunteers and police officers) is only about 7%.
The rate of complaints and disciplinary indictments compared to the rate of mandatory servicemen in the Shavas –
In 37% of the complaints that came to the Shevast Yohlam (68 out of 185) and in 42% of the indictments submitted to the Shevast Disciplinary Court (5 out of 12) in the years 2019 – 2021, the victims were mandatory servants, and this even though the proportion of them included a force formation The person in the Shavas is only about 6%.
The rate of sexual assaults in the Shevas and the police compared to their rate according to a personal security survey for the National Security Agency – The percentage of mandatory maids in the Security Service and the police, who indicated in the questionnaires that they had been sexually assaulted (about 25%) is about 300% greater than the proportion of victims who were between the ages of 20 and 34 according to the Personal Security Survey of the National Security Agency for 2021 (9.2%).
The report of the public committee to investigate the conditions of the security prisoners held in the Shavas – The audit revealed that the recommendations of the report that teach about the risk involved in performing the role of a security guard were not discussed in the political-security cabinet and therefore no decisions were made regarding the report.
Appeals from security prisoners on social networks – About 15% of the mandatory jailers indicated in the questionnaires that they received inquiries from security prisoners or their partners through social networks. However, none of the reports received by the SBS about such cases in the years 2019 – 2022 were handled, and this, among other things, because “the prisoner was released”. With the end of the mandatory service, the SBS procedures no longer apply to the inmates, as do their responsibilities of the security department towards them. After release, they therefore have no protection against the dangers associated with this type of appeals, and in particular when it comes to appeals from security prisoners, which evoke a feeling of insecurity.
Performing a role without training – According to the questionnaires, in the Shin Bet, the police and the MGB, the proportion of the mandatory employees who started their service and are waiting for more than three months for the training required to fulfill their duties was 18%, 36% and 47% respectively. Contrary to the procedures, a significant part (43%) of the mandatory police and MGB officers begin to perform the role for which they were assigned without having undergone appropriate training, and this is relative to 17% of the officers in the Security Service. For example, a mandatory security guard told the audit team that even though he served in a headquarters position, he was required to strengthen security wings and guard an armed guard in the guard tower, without having undergone any training for this.
In the State Comptroller’s office, they summarize the troubling data and write: “Sexual assaults can sometimes cause severe and long-term damage, and significantly undermine the victim’s sense of control over his life and body, as well as his right to privacy and a protected personal space. A significant part of the psychological harm that accompanies the victim involves the denial of personal security and the feeling that he has been deprived of the freedom of choice over his body and His actions. To that end, the victims need a sense of protection – physically and emotionally – including knowing that the community and the enforcement systems are working to the best of their ability to create a safe environment, prevent the recurrence of harm and bring the offender to justice. These things are even more true when it comes to the bodies entrusted with law enforcement in the State of Israel And in a population of young soldiers who perform their mandatory service in hierarchical organizations alongside older permanent servants, and the types of tasks assigned to them are mostly challenging and complex from the mental point of view.”