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- Gilboa Prison sexual assault 'tip of iceberg' says State Comptroller
Gilboa Prison sexual assault 'tip of iceberg' says State Comptroller
38 percent of conscripts serving in the Israel Prison System said they experienced sexual abuse
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Some 70 percent of sexual abuse reports from Israel's police and other security forces were either not handled at all or not addressed inadequately, according to a State Comptroller report on Monday.
The special interim report on the protection of female soldiers found that the story that came to be known as the "Gilboa prison affair" - which detailed prisoners sexually assaulting and raping soldiers - was only the "tip of the iceberg." The findings of the new report revealed a "disturbing organizational reality."
As part of the audit, the team visited seven security prison facilities and spoke with approximately 150 conscription officers stationed there. The State Comptroller's Office also surveyed approximately 13,000 soldiers and those released from conscription.
The report found that 38 percent of mandatory conscripts serving in the Israel Prison System said that they experienced sexual abuse and that 70 percent of said abuse was committed by a permanent employee or a commander.
Less than half of those who indicated that they experienced sexual abuse said they reported the abuse to some party - whether inside the organization they served or outside. A whopping 70 percent of those who chose to report it from the police, the internal security service (Shin Bet), and the Border Police noted that the complaint was not handled at all or handled inadequately.
In the Israeli military, 33 percent of female conscripts stated that since their enlistment, they were sexually harassed one or more times, and 32 percent reported this to a relevant supervisor. Roughly half who reported the harassment were satisfied with handling the complaint.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman noted in the report: "It is not possible to justify a reality in which one out of four conscripted soldiers in the police and the Shin Bet experienced sexual abuse."
"We must not show leniency for the fact that 70 percent of the complaints were not handled properly, and it is not possible to move to the agenda when the trends show sexual harassment by security prisoners, the lack of backing from the command level, and sexual harassment from permanent employees towards female soldiers and conscripts."
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