The film "Who Killed Jessica?" directed by Yuli Cohen, seeks to tell Jessica's story in order to present the violent reality of life in the world of prostitution. Cohen wants to raise awareness of the culture of turning a blind eye to the situation of these women in society and law enforcement.
The young woman, who immigrated to Israel at the age of 16, accompanied only by her sister, was looking for ways to earn her bread. The name 'Jessica' was given to her when she began making a living from prostitution in Tel Aviv with a pimp on Dizengoff Street. Later, David (the pimp) and Jessica moved to a building at 98 Hayarkon Street in Tel Aviv, which is considered one of the most popular brothels in the city. "When Jessica came here she was considered the childhood of the place, she was super sweet, and very quickly David was happy to give her a key and she moved in here in room number '5,'" says an insider.
As Jessica's livelihood increased, her soul broke. Thirteen years later, at the age of 36, she decided to end her life. "She was found hanging, naked, on the loudspeaker in the room where she was receiving customers."
"The next day when she didn't get up for her shift there was a knock on her door, she didn't answer, who would have believed?"
Jessica's close friends were surprised by her sudden death, but research shows the writing was on the wall. In this context, according to Israeli law, as of the day Jessica committed suicide in August 2015, 'soliciting prostitution, pimping and running brothels are criminal acts. In 2016, a national survey by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Public Security revealed that the volume of prostitution in Israel "turns" NIS 1.2 billion a year and the budget for the fight against it is NIS 22 million.
The survey also revealed that "the number of people employed in prostitution in Israel in 2014 was estimated at about 12,000 people, 95% of whom are women." The survey also revealed that the average number of "clients" per woman per year is about 660, and that the number of minors engaged in prostitution, or who are at risk of it, reaches 1,260, in addition to several dozen minors. Over 80% of women who make a living working in prostitution would like to change their way of livelihood and cannot do without outside assistance.
Three hours after her body was exhumed, the brothel continued to accept men as they did every day. However, for five years a trial was held against the building's owner, Dalia Trofa, at the end of which she was convicted of renting a place for prostitution. Trope was not put in jail, but paid a fine and received community service.
Credits
Director, Writer and Producer – Yuli Cohen
Animation - Alon Breyer, Carmel Ben Ami
ILLUSTRATIONS - SRIEL KASLASI, GREGOR DASHBUR
Editing: Sagi Bornstein
Voices: Omer Barnea, Avia Brosh
Music - Roy Bo Sira
Development Support - The New Fund for Film and Television
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