Some 3,100 social workers signed a letter sent Wednesday morning to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, demanding that he intervene and instruct his ministry officials to stop the process of privatizing the process of diagnosing violent men and recommending to the court their eligibility, Israel Hayom has learned. The Union of Social Workers plans to file a petition to the High Court of Justice against the move soon. "Women's blood is not for sale," said a letter sent to the finance minister, calling on him to intervene and put an end to the move.
Social workers demonstrate in front of the government compound in Tel Aviv (Archive) // Photo: Paz Bar
In August 2022, an amendment to the Prevention of Domestic Violence Law came into effect, according to which a man against whom a protection order has been issued will be referred to a recruiting social worker and a staff who will recommend to the court regarding his suitability for treatment. The program, called the "Protective Plan," is actually a court-ordered diagnostic procedure, at the end of which further treatment is recommended. It is the court that gives the order and even supervises it.
Although the amendment was budgeted when it was enacted, it costs NIS 6 million a year for 30 social worker positions. In recent months, the Finance Ministry has actually promoted a move to privatize the process, so that the diagnosis of violent men will be done by private companies. That is, outsourcing the process. The cost of such a move would cost the state less.
In recent weeks, the union has launched a public struggle against the move, joined by other organizations such as WIZO. Everyone thinks that this is a dangerous move, since it is a legal process that was done under duress and entrusted to outsourcing it – to a private company that only has the right in mind to derive a profit. The process, they claim, would undermine the entire purpose of the program – to prevent and stop violence against women.
Ministry of Finance, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
On Monday, dozens of social workers demonstrated in front of Finance Minister Smotrich's home, calling on him to "enter the event" and prevent privatization, carrying signs such as "There is money for 30 ministers – there is no money for 30 social workers" and "Women's blood is not for sale."
"Treasury officials prefer that for-profit companies derive an economic coupon for their shareholders, as long as there are no more public service jobs," the letter said. "In recent decades, privatization of social services has become commonplace, and the state shirks its responsibility. The privatization of the role of protective social worker is a new and particularly worrying stage in the privatization of social services. This is the privatization of a position that operates within the framework of a legal process and deals with coercive treatment."
Chairman of the Union of Social Workers Inbal Hermony: "Instead of allocating state standards and having it implemented in the best and most professional way, the Finance Ministry wants the state to give it to for-profit companies. Profit and well-being don't work together."
Minister of Finance Smotrich (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Rivka Neumann, Director of the Division for the Advancement of the Status of Women at WIZO: "For Sale – Governance. Amendment 18 to the Prevention of Domestic Violence Law is an initiative led by WIZO and its purpose is to assess the danger of the violent man under a protection order, recommendations regarding the outline of the required order and recommendations for a treatment plan. At the most crisis moment in the life of a family living under explosive violence, a professional evaluation by a social worker specializing in violence and the construction of treatment and protection plans are required. Precisely at the volatile moment when a legal review diagnosing the situation is required for the court, it is precisely there that the Finance Ministry refuses to ensure that these are standards for civil servants.
"The opposition is dangerous, an opposition that violates the very heart of a complex and volatile legal process. I would not want my fate decided by a business company that will probably employ professionals at low cost, since it derives profit from the service it sells. Not everything can be for sale. Privatization in a country that privatized itself should also have red lines. There should be loyalty to social responsibility here, and especially loyalty to the Ten Commandments, one of which, 'Thou shalt not kill,' involves how the law will be implemented."
The Finance Ministry's response will be submitted when received.
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