Under the new procedures, the ensemble of judges hearing criminal cases relating to sexual offenses will be of mixed gender.
This is designed to make giving testimony easier for victims, according to Haaretz, who cited recommendations made by a committee appointed to examine the difficulties faced by victims of sexual offences during the entire duration of reporting, and trying these offenses as well as recommending solutions to these challenges.
According to the committee, it can be difficult for victims to give testimony on sexual offenses committed against them when a panel of judges is all-male, Haaretz reported.
The committee was appointed by Hayut in 2018 and headed by former Tel Aviv district court president Judge Dvora Berliner.
The Supreme Court also instructed that courts work to hear cases relating to sexual offenses as quickly as possible, out of recognition of the mental difficulty caused to victims by waiting to give testimony.
The court further stated that verdicts in these cases should be issued in as timely a manner as possible out of recognition for the benefit some victims gain from a verdict being issued.
Other new procedures include protection for victims while they are in the court. A court's guard will accompany the victim from the time they arrive in the court and until they leave the building. In addition, a court representative will be assigned as an escort and liaison to victims.
The Supreme Court also instructed that the courts should take any available precautions to prevent any contact between the victim and the person suspected or convicted of the offense or anyone related to him.
At the victim's request, their escort will ensure that they have a place to wait before giving testimony, so that they do not have to wait in the hallways of the court where they may encounter the person accused or convicted of sexual offenses against them.
In a court where there is no closed room available in which the victim can wait, the court liaison will find an area near court security in which the victim can wait.
The court will also provide a television system that will allow the victim to hear the trial from a separate location.
Additionally, according to the new procedure, the court will work to hear the testimony of victims as early in the day as possible, in order to minimize the amount of time victims need to spend in the court.The court will also work to hear the testimony of the victim of sexual offense as quickly as possible - striving to hear the entire testimony in one say, and hearing the testimony on adjacent days until it is completed. This is conditional on the wellbeing of the victim, and if giving the testimony in such a manner is harmful to them, it will be spaced out according to the request of the victim.
These procedures are designed to make the time victims must wait to give testimony as short as possible, stemming from the court's recognition of the mental difficulty this wait time can cause.