Comments by the Chairperson of the Committee

The Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry on the Trafficking in Women was established in order to turn the spotlight on the modern slave trade that is taking place in the State of Israel, and due to the urgent need to struggle against what I consider one of the strongest and most extreme blows to the right of women to freedom.

All types of violence used against women for being women, are a direct attack on their choice to conduct their lives as they may see fit, and to realize their autonomy. However, the trafficking in women, and sexual slavery are the worst cases of violence.

The public in Israel became aware of the phenomenon of the trafficking in women, primarily from reports in the media that were frequently accompanied by photographs of half-naked women and girls. From time to time the public saw on the television screens military personnel chasing the women in the desert on the Israeli-Egyptian border, and trying to catch them. Until the year 2000 reports on the phenomenon in the media, left little impression on the public and on the authorities, both of which demonstrated ignorance and prejudice with regards to it. As far as they were concerned, the issue concerned foreign, Russian women, who had arrived in Israel with the purpose of engaging in prostitution, and it was therefore justifiable to ignore the phenomenon.

When I set up the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry on the Trafficking in Women, whose membership included Members of the Knesset from all sides of the political spectrum, my goal was to map out the dimensions of the phenomenon, and ensure that both the decision makers and the public in Israel would become acquainted not only with the difficult stories of the human figures appearing on the television screen, but unbelievable statistical figures regarding the dimensions and brutal nature of the modern trafficking in human beings in the era of globalization. I wanted them to understand that in the front yard of the Israeli society there exists sexual slavery, which must be eradicated.

It is difficult to find words to describe the phenomenon. Words are not strong enough to describe the dimensions of the horror, as my colleagues and I learnt during the years of the Committee's activity.

A comprehensive survey that we prepared, which examined for the first time the views of the public in Israel on the trafficking in women, and their awareness regarding the connection between this phenomenon and the breech of human rights, revealed that the public is not aware of such a link. Especially among men we found a forgiving attitude towards the customers of the trafficking in women, that is perceived as part of the problem of foreigners in Israel, and therefore far removed from the public's consciousness.

The findings of the survey shocked me, for more than anything else, they bore witness to the blindness of the Israeli public to anything connected with the human rights, human dignity and freedom in general, and that of women in particular. I found no understanding for the concept, which for me and my colleagues is self-evident, that the servitude to prostitution turns women into objects, dehumanizes them, turns them from being a human being, to a tradable object on the marketplace, whose value is measured in monetary terms.

I believe that the exploitation of the women who engage in prostitution, deprives them of the right to dignity, equality, and physical and mental welfare. But the blow does not affect only the women themselves, who are the immediate and direct victims. In those societies in which there is a trade in women as goods for sexual consumption, the whole public of women in these societies is affected, for the hidden message is that women can be purchased, and this fixates and strengthens their inferior status in society.

Having struggled for the defense and the advancement of the status of women, I believe that the State of Israel cannot view itself as a well-ordered democratic state, unless it upholds the principle of human dignity and freedom, and recognizes that the trafficking in women is a difficult and serious social problem that must be eradicated at all costs.

Today I can say unequivocally that over the years progress has been made in the struggle of the State of Israel concerning the trafficking in human beings.

As members of the Committee we have made it our goal to serve as a watchdog over the authorities, and have compelled the State to act in accordance with the standards laid down in writing by the international community. After prolonged and rigorous activity, in which we warned about the mitigated punishments, and the flimsiness of the action by the law enforcing authority, the police and the courts of law changed their approach to the phenomenon. Today women are treated as victims of an offence, whose human rights have been breached, and those who traffic and pimp in the bodies of the women, are treated more severely.

Nevertheless, there is necessary to continue and press the law enforcement authorities to detain the offenders, to close the brothels, to be more stringent in punishment, and to give priority in the courts to cases involving the trafficking in women.

Understanding that the struggle against the trafficking in human beings requires cooperation among all parts of the society, I decided to bring together - within the framework of the work of the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry -representatives of the Government and the Knesset, and representatives of non-governmental human rights organizations, who play an important role in the struggle against the trafficking in human beings in general, and the trafficking in women in particular.

I would not have succeeded in all my endeavors, without the assistance of the Knesset Members in the Committee, who demonstrated devotion to the uncompromising struggle against the trafficking in human beings, and whose advice and support, with the backing of the Knesset Speaker, led us to very significant achievements. All this took place under the devoted, professional and skilled management of the Committee's director, Ms. Sigalit Edri, and the comprehensive, profound and professional accompaniment of the Committee's legal advisor, attorney Michal Lutzky.

The laws that we toiled over, must not remain a dead letter in the law book. I am following the implementation of our recommendations, and the implementation of the laws that we legislated. Only their full implementation, in cooperation with all the participants in the struggle to eradicate the trafficking in human beings, the law enforcing authorities and extra-governmental organizations, will being about a real policy change, and an improvement in the state of human rights in Israel.

This change will also lead the State of Israel to the place that it strive to reach in the American Report for 2005 -among the group of states that act to eradicate the trafficking in women, and the rehabilitation of its victims.

Comments by the Speaker of the Knesset

The activity of the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry on the Trafficking in Women, reflects the great importance attributed by the Israeli legislature to the struggle against the grave phenomenon.

To my great regret and shame, the State of Israel is placed too high on the list of states that traffic in human beings. Under our very noses thousands of women were smuggled into the country for the purpose of engaging in prostitution - women who are engaged in "escort services", under appalling conditions of physical and mental exploitation, while being enslaved by traffickers, who pimp in them.

The Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry on the Trafficking in women, headed by Member of the Knesset Zahava Gal`on, and with the active membership of Members of the Knesset from all parts of political spectrum, was established in the year 2000. Its establishment symbolizes in my opinion the serious and uncompromising approach of the Knesset to the struggle against the phenomenon, which Supreme Court Justice Kheshin once defined as "Israel's war against Amalek".

I believe that the activity of the Committee has succeeded in bringing about a change in attitudes to the problem.

Raising the issue for public debate, and the growing awareness to the phenomenon, have forced the executive branch to change its attitude to the subject, and cooperate with the Knesset, in order to bring about the advancement of legislation that will help the law enforcement authorities to struggle against the phenomenon of trafficking, in areas such as the imposition of minimal punishments on those trafficking in women, and enabling the women to give prior testimony.

The Committee served as a "watchdog" over the authorities, supervised their activities, and followed the implementation of Government decisions, their advancement and their implementation.

The activity of the Committee led to the exhaustion of all the available parliamentary tools -comprehensive legislation, tours outside the Knesset to relevant locations, extensive debates, the follow up of the activities of the authorities - and also raised the issue for public deliberation, and established cooperation with extra-parliamentary organizations. These activities led to harsher treatment of the traffickers, and progress in the treatment of the women concerned.

The Committee's activity also had ramifications on the grading of the State of Israel in the Report of the American State Department, that moved from the grave third category of states that traffic in human beings - a place that could have led to economic sanctions - to the second category.

The comprehensive bill that was tabled by the Committee to prohibit the trafficking in human beings, and the establishment of an authority for the struggle against the trafficking in human beings, mark the peak of the Committee's activity, and manifest a combination of correct, determined and consistent work. This activity of the Committee is a significant step in the contention with the modern slave trade that is dishonorable to the State of Israel.

The Knesset's standing committees will continue to deal with all those issues treated by the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, and follow them up.

Summary of the Report

In June 2000, at the initiative of Knesset Member Gal`on, the Knesset plenary decided to establish a parliamentary committee of inquiry to examine the phenomenon of the trafficking in human beings in the country. The Committee, headed by Knesset Member Gal`on, has been operating for more than four years, and has struggled against all spheres and aspects of the phenomenon.

The Committee held numerous meetings, with the participation of representatives of Government Ministries, the courts of law, extra-parliamentary organizations, etc. Victims of trafficking in human beings and the owners of brothels appeared before the Committee. In addition, the Committee visited brothels, detention centers, custody installations, and shelters for victims of the trafficking in women.

The Committee set for itself two goals:

The first - creating a revolution in the consciousness with regards to women, who are victims of the trafficking in human beings, so that they will be perceived as victims of an offence, women whose rights have been violated, and not offenders or women whose stay in the country is illegal.
The second - more stringent treatment of the trafficking offenders, and those who pimp in the bodies of women.

As will be shown in this Report, in these two arenas - the treatment of the women victims, and to the trafficking offenders - the Committee's struggle bore fruit, and contributed significantly to increasing the awareness and the more intensive activity of the law enforcing authorities. The said Report reviews the Committee's activity, and that of the various Government Ministries in the sphere of the trafficking in human beings.

This summary will present the Committee's conclusions and recommendations with regards to each Ministry and Authority.

The Court System

The court system has a central role to play in the war against the trafficking in women, both on the level of punishment and deterrence, and on the level of treatment of women who are victims of the trafficking in human beings, as witnesses in trials and as victims.

As a result of the heavy workload in the courts, the women, who are victims of the trafficking, must wait a long time to give their testimony, and therefore:

• The court system must implement the Prior Testimony in Trafficking of Women Law that was passed by the Committee and is not being implemented. It is necessary to enable the women to give prior testimony.
• The deliberation should be referred to the forum of a single judge. It is also necessary to refer cases from courts with a heavy workload to courts that do not have a heavy workload.
• The courts must be more stringent in their verdicts, in order to deter the traffickers in women.

The Ministry of Justice
The State Attorney's Office - The State Attorney's office has a central role to play in the struggle against the trafficking in human beings. The State Attorney's office decides whether to put the traffickers in women on trial, it works out the plea bargains that were made until recently in most cases of trafficking in human beings.

• The State Attorney's Office must further diminish the use of plea bargains, and raise the level of punishment.
• It must defend the rights of the women that are victims of the trafficking in human beings, and avoid mentioning their names in the indictments. It is also necessary to give an instruction that higher compensation be requested for the victims of the trafficking, and significantly raise the level of compensation.
• The State Attorney's Office must act to strengthen its instructions regarding the cases in which it is possible to close the brothels, and act more rigorously to close them in the fastest and easiest manner.

Legal Assistance - The Legal Assistance must represent the victims of the trafficking in human beings in accordance with the law that was passed by the Committee.

• The law must be implemented in full, in other words, it must be applied to all the women who are victims of the trafficking, something that is not done today.
• The women who are victims of the trafficking must be informed about the process and about their ability to turn for legal advice on certain civil issues as well, for the purpose of being represented.

The Ministry of Internal Security

The Ministry of Internal Security has numerous roles to play in the struggle against the trafficking in human beings: the detention of traffickers and pimps, the closing of brothels, treatment of women who are the victims of trafficking, their transfer to a hostel, their removal back to their countries of origin, and defense of the victims.

• The police must establish a special unit to deal with the trafficking in human beings, and avoid making do with small and inexperienced teams that do not include Russian speaking members. In addition, the police must perform more detentions of traffickers.
• The police must act to close the many brothels that operate unperturbed.
• Action must be taken to prevent the police from being in charge of the transfer of women to the shelter, and to decide that victims of the trafficking in human beings should not be housed in custody installations.
• The women who are victims of the trafficking should be returned to their countries of origin directly, and not via Egypt.
• The police must rapidly formulate a program for witness protection, that will offer protection to women who testify against the traffickers from repeated threats to their lives, and to the lives of their families in their country of origin.
• Action must be taken to push the Committee's bills forward. These include a bill, which states that a policeman, who goes to a women who is engaged in prostitution as a customer while wearing his uniform, is guilty of a criminal offence, for which the punishment is six months imprisonment, and a bill, which states that soliciting to by policemen shall be considered a more serious offence.
• The Ministry of Internal Security must hold suitable training for policemen all over the country on the issue, so that they will be able to better cope with the problems that they confront when they must deal with the various aspects of the phenomenon.

The Ministry of the Interior

The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the expulsion of the women who are victims of the trafficking in human beings. It determines when they can be returned to their countries of origin; whether during their stay within the confines of the State of Israel they will or will not be given permits to stay and work, and whether they will be removed during the holding of civil proceedings against the traffickers.

• The Ministry of the Interior must recognize the women as victims of an offence, and give them permits to reside and work in a legally ordered and regulated manner, for a period of one year from the day on which they finished testifying, for the purpose of their getting organized and rehabilitated, as was undertaken by former Minister of the Interior, Avraham Poraz, at the Committee's meeting.
• The Ministry of the Interior must regulate the issue of the victims' identifying documents during their stay in the country (not only for women who are staying in shelters).

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has a significant role to play in the struggle against the trafficking in human beings on two levels. The one - dealing with the international criticism, and the second - contact with the destination states, and the countries of origin.

• The Ministry for Foreign Affairs must raise the banner of the struggle in the sphere, due to the harm caused to the name of the State of Israel in the world, and due to its status in the US State Department Report.
• The Ministry for Foreign Affairs must develop the contacts with the countries of origin, with security factors in these countries, and with international organizations that deal with the issue.
• The Ministry for Foreign Affairs must ensure that in the various consulates the travel documents for the women who are victims of the trafficking will be arranged, and the rate of payment for the issuing of the documents will be reduced.
• The Ministry for Foreign Affairs must implement the campaign that it initiated in all the countries from which the women arrive, to inform potential victims of the phenomenon of the trafficking in human beings that exists in the country.

The Ministry of Finance

According to the evaluations of the representatives of the Israeli tax authorities, as they were presented at the Committee's meetings, we are dealing with an "industry" with a turnover of around one billion dollars per annum. The Committee considered it necessary to deal with the phenomenon in a comprehensive systemic manner, as will be presented in this Report, and thus hurt the traffickers in women in their pockets as well. Economic sanctions, in addition to criminal sanctions, could act as a deterrence to participation in this "industry".

• One should not collect income tax and VAT from the traffickers, since this would imply the legitimization of the traffickers in women. However, it is necessary to approach all the factors responsible for the implementation of the law on the laundering of capital, and use it to cause economic damage to the traffickers in women.
• The bill for prohibiting the trafficking in human beings must include a forfeiture of property, while granting enforcement powers, as well as civil forfeiture, in order to enable additional economic harm to the pockets of the traffickers in women.

The Ministry of Welfare

The Ministry of Welfare is involved in many aspects connected with the protection of victims of the trafficking in women. Within this framework the Ministry of Welfare is responsible for the establishment of the shelter, where the women who are victims of the trafficking stay.

• A proper procedure of placement must take place, and the power to refer victims to a shelter must be removed from the police.
• Also women who are victims of the trafficking in human beings, but are not testifying in courts of law against traffickers in women, should be referred to shelters.
• It is necessary to renew the work of the inter-ministerial team, and appoint a permanent coordinator, who will formulate a clear policy with regards to the transfer of the victims of the trafficking in human beings to a shelter.

The Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health is responsible for the accessibility of medical care, including accessibility of medical care for victims of the trafficking in human beings.

• The Ministry of Health must offer all women who are the victims of the trafficking in human beings, and not only the women who are staying in a shelter, regulated access to health institutions.
• The Ministry of Health must provide a larger basket of health services to women who are victims of the trafficking. A "medical commando" must raid brothels throughout the country, in order to enable those women to be examined, and to take care of their health problems.

Furthermore, the Report will deal with additional subjects that the Committee examined, such as the incrimination of the customer, a public opinion survey on the trafficking in women, the question of the relations between the women and their pimps and those trafficking in them - whether it is possible to view them as employee-employer relations, etc.