Report Urges Unified National Strategy to Combat Child Abuse and Neglect in Israel
A new report by Bayit LeKol Yeled reveals that children in Israel face multiple intersecting risks, including neglect, violence, and emotional trauma alongside sexual abuse, highlighting the urgent need for a unified national strategy and clear governmental accountability.
The 2025 report by the "Bayit LeKol Yeled" (A Home for Every Child) association illustrates that harm to children extends far beyond sexual abuse. Operating for over 50 years, the organization highlights a complex reality where children face violence, neglect, and emotional trauma simultaneously. While Israel has important response mechanisms, the central challenge is connecting them to clear accountability, prevention, and measurable outcomes.
A Complex Reality of Risk Factors
During the past year, the association treated 1,372 children and at least 1,350 parents. For 68% of the children, sexual abuse was one of the reasons for referral, alongside abuse, neglect, emotional and psychological difficulties, parental dysfunction, economic hardship, and exposure to violence. The demographic spread shows that the phenomenon cuts across various communities: among Jewish children whose religiosity was reported, 35% were from religious families, 33% from secular or traditional families, and 32% from ultra-Orthodox families.
National Data and Institutional Response
Between 2018 and 2024, police opened 1,044 investigative files regarding suspected violence by adults against children under six in educational settings, involving 1,861 victims. According to the National Council for the Child's 2025 statistical yearbook, regional centers for sexual abuse treatment handled 3,720 children and teenagers in 2024. Israel possesses significant infrastructure, including legislation, mandatory reporting, welfare services, education, health, police, and the National Program for Children and Youth at Risk ("Yeladim BaSiyuach").
The Need for Unified Leadership
Despite existing frameworks like "Beit Lin" protection centers and the 105 online hotline, experts argue that individual bodies operate in silos. Western nations such as Australia and the United Kingdom have adopted comprehensive systemic responses with national dashboards and clear multi-year strategies. Yair Avidan, chairman of the association and former supervisor of banks, stresses that the next government must assign overarching ministerial responsibility to the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs to coordinate all systems and ensure child protection is treated as a top national priority.
