Only 4% of crime victims eventually file a tort claim against the person who harmed them.
This is according to a public report that was submitted last week to the Minister of Justice, Gideon Sa'ar and reached Israel Hayom.
Of the 8,237 defendants who were convicted in a criminal proceeding for sexual offenses, death and violence, a tortious civil lawsuit was filed against only 313.
Minister Sa'ar decided to adopt the main recommendations in the report, including making the civil procedure more accessible to crime victims, increasing their protection in and out of the courtroom, and promoting legislative amendments to extend the statute of limitations for filing civil lawsuits.
The team that examined the issue was appointed in February 2021 by the Minister of Justice following the recommendations of the Berlinger Committee to examine the treatment of victims of sexual offenses in the criminal process.
It was headed by Attorney Rani Neubauer from the Ministry of Justice and together with Attorney Etti Liebman Afai and representatives from various ministries and bodies, the team examined the reasons for the paucity of civil lawsuits filed by victims of three types of crimes: sex, death, and violence, in which the criminal proceedings ended with the conviction of the offender.
For the first time, official data was collected on the amount of lawsuits filed in civil proceedings, and it emerged that between 2015-2017, less than 4% of the victims filed a tort claim.
These data indicated difficulties and barriers for the victims, starting from the lack of information, the lack of mental resources, lack of trust in the legal system, fear of returning to the trauma and dealing with it, to the lack of resources.
Gideon Sa'ar, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The most prominent recommendations in the report: informing the victims of the crime of their civil rights and their ability to sue the convicted offender, giving the crime victim the right to review the decision and the sentence so that he can substantiate his claim, the establishment of dedicated mediation mechanisms for civil claims of crime victims, a reduction in enforcement fees, and legislative amendments to extend The permitted statute of limitations for the purpose of filing a civil lawsuit for all types of offenses. Another important recommendation in the report concerns the granting of security measures to the victim of the offense so that he does not fear conducting proceedings against the offender.
Minister Sa'ar announced that he will bring to the government in the coming weeks a proposal for a resolution to implement the recommendations in the report: "The state owes the victims of the crime a real duty.
Thanks to their courage to complain against the offenders, the perpetrators can be brought to justice and punished.
Without complaints being filed, the perpetrators will continue to roam the streets and harm potential victims."
Director General of the Ministry of Justice, Attorney Eran Davidi: "The low figure in the use of the civil procedure tools by the victims was a call for us to make a change."
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