A groundbreaking report reveals the economic impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) and femicide on the Israeli GDP
A groundbreaking report reveals the economic impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) and femicide on the Israeli GDP
Conducted by SFI Group, commissioned by Michal Sela Forum | MSF Global, and supported by Fiverr
A groundbreaking report commissioned by the Michal Sela Forum and conducted by Social Finance Israel reveals that intimate partner violence and femicide cost the Israeli economy approximately NIS 34 billion ($9.35B), with NIS 8.2 million ($2.2 million) per murdered woman. Forum CEO Lili Ben-Ami, whose sister Michal Sela was murdered by her husband, says that prioritizing preventative solutions would save lives and cut public costs.
The number of victims of IPV in Israel is estimated to be between 149,700-160,100, however, the report emphasizes that these figures are highly conservative and that numbers are likely much higher. The Central Bureau of Statistics estimates that 59% of victims of IPV or women threatened with IPV don’t report it – a figure that rises to 84% when sexual violence is involved. According to the new report, there is “a troubling gap between the actual prevalence of violence against women and the cases known to authorities,” says Achinoam Zigel, Senior Director of Economics and Finance at SFI.
In an effort to inform the public of the widespread nature of the phenomenon and motivate policy changes, similar reports measuring the economic cost of domestic violence have been conducted in numerous OECD countries over the last twenty years, primarily in Europe and North America. “Until now, the discussion around domestic violence in Israel has been framed in moral or ethical terms,” says Yaron Neudorfer, CEO of SFI. “This is the first time that it is being discussed in Israel from an economic perspective, showing what it costs the public.
