Hard evidence of rape and sexual violence in the evacuated hotels/Knesset channel
The horrifying acts of rape, violence and sexual assault experienced by girls and women in the events of October 7th, first and foremost affected the women who were there, but also left behind another circle of victims who are scarred by the events.
Beyond the first circle of victims from the sexual terrorism of the Nuh'ba soldiers, there is also a circle of victims whom the "Friends of Medicine" association describes as the "silent victims of iron swords": women who were sexually assaulted before that Black Sabbath, but precisely now when the current events are a trigger that is difficult to escape From him, they are neglected without adequate care for their turbulent mental state.
For victims of sexual assault, the war overwhelms the traumas of the past and causes renewed harm, with many victims testifying that already on Black Sabbath, they were mostly afraid of being raped again, more than dying.
"The Friends of Medicine Association has a dedicated fund for the supportive care of victims of sexual assault, designed to allow them to be given critical care - psychiatric, psychological, etc., depending on their condition," explains Yael Heller, who manages the new funds for funding and medical assistance at the association. Sexuality and incest was established in the organization 'Friends of Medicine' already in 2010 by a private donor who invested three million shekels to finance the psychological and psychiatric treatments for women, girls and boys who were severely affected to the point of difficulty functioning due to the mental distress.
Precisely now they are being neglected without adequate care for their turbulent mental state./ShutterStock
"The difficult cases that come to the association every year are chilling. The ones that come to us - sometimes come after suicidal attempts. They say that they were unable to get a response through the health insurance funds, that the lines are too long or that they were unable to connect with a therapist. They come to us literally by word of mouth and by referrals from social workers." .
According to her, "In the shadow of the war, there are quite a few girls and women who have been sexually assaulted, there is a "Room 4" report of the center for sexual assault victims and victims, but precisely in these sensitive days, we do not have the resources to treat them as requested and required.
These are cases that occurred even before Black Sabbath, including very difficult cases, such as a young woman who was severely gang-raped.
Since Black Saturday, these women have been hit twice.
They are overwhelmed by the evidence of the cases of sexual violence and rape from the Nova party.
The videos, articles, information and stories are a trigger, they are "triggered" sevenfold and precisely now there is no budget to give them the support.
In the end, a situation arose in which inquiries increased - but the response to donations decreased, mainly because they are directed to the war's purposes: to soldiers, evacuees, etc., she concludes.
"As part of the set of helpful services that the association provides on a regular basis, we allow opening a personal fund to raise donations and resources for medicines or medical treatments," explains Baruch Lieberman, CEO of "Friends of Medicine". "The fund can be opened by anyone who is in a health crisis and needs expensive treatment who is not in the health basket or who for one reason or another is unable to finance.
The purpose of the funds is to make it possible to raise the money needed for treatments from the environment, from friends, from work, from advertising on social networks, etc.," he explains, "in order to facilitate the process, the association provides close and free treatment in aspects of bureaucracy, payment for the treatments to the hospital, spending Recognized receipts for tax purposes and submission to the Exceptions Committee after proof of effectiveness."
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However, since the outbreak of the war, "Friends of Medicine" know how to report a dramatic decrease in the response of the public to hire and donate to funds of this type, which help "routine patients", and these are relegated for understandable reasons to a low place in the order of priorities and public attention.
As a result, critical and sensitive issues are not addressed, and one of them is the treatment of victims of sexual assault and rape.
"Friends of Medicine" association was founded in 2003 with a vision to give medicine to everyone who needs it.
Today, the association is the largest umbrella organization in its field for assistance with medicines, from basic medicines to expensive medicines that are not included in the health basket.
Thanks to the association's activities, tens of thousands of patients receive medication assistance every month.
With the outbreak of hostilities, "Friends of Medicine" opened a central logistics center through which it manages the operation of distributing medicines and medical equipment according to the needs arising from the field. So far, it has transferred equipment and medicines worth over a million NIS. Among this, about 5 tons of emergency medical equipment has been transferred to the battalions Inside Gaza and in the north and to the standby units, over 500,000 different aid items for those on the front lines of the war, to the standby units and soldiers, and over 16,000 shipments of medicine to the wounded and the residents of the south. These days, the organization is preparing for the continuation of the fighting and is making purchases from donations in order to provide a response to immediate requests for emergency medical equipment and medicines in the amount of about NIS 3 million.
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Gaza war
women
rape
sexual abuse
War of Iron Swords