Sa'ar to advance grants for victims of some violent crimes

Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar will advance a law that would enable the state to grant up to NIS 10,000 to victims of some offenses.

GIDEON SAAR in his Knesset office this week: Leadership is based on advancing your ideology, and the public respects that. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
GIDEON SAAR in his Knesset office this week: Leadership is based on advancing your ideology, and the public respects that.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar will submit a bill on Sunday that would enable payments of up to NIS 10,000 to be transferred to the victims of sex offenses and murder attempts. 

Under the new proposal, the victims of these offenses who have been awarded financial compensation from those convicted of harming them would be eligible to receive grants from the state, which would then collect the payments from the convicted person.

This is an expansion of an existing law that currently enables the state to pay minors who are victims of crimes and awarded compensation from their attacker.

This is the first correction in a series of changes aimed at improving the treatment victims receive from authorities, according to Sa'ar.

"The correction to the law is meant to express the participation of the state in helping victims of serious offenses and their families and give immediate help," said Sa'ar.

Protests in support of the 13-year-old rape victim of alleged suspect Yarin Sherf. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/ MAARIV)
Protests in support of the 13-year-old rape victim of alleged suspect Yarin Sherf. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/ MAARIV)

Only 16% of cases of sex offenses in 2019 made it to the stage where an indictment was issued, and less resulted in a conviction, according to Israel’s association of rape crisis centers (ARCCI).

Of the 159 cases of sex offenses that were closed in 2019, 74% ended in a conviction, according to ARCCI data.