Last week the modern orthodox community was shaken by a scandal involving allegations of sexual abuse against Etzion Bloc Mayor Davidi Perl. The scandal is the latest of several previous incidents of sexual crimes that were uncovered by the Forum Takana organization.
Forum Takana was founded in 2003 by Torah scholars and religious educators, jurists and social workers, in order to prevent sexual abuse by public and religious authority figures. The purpose of the forum is to deal with complaints of sexual harassment that do not reach law enforcement authorities, because of the shame involved in having victims’ identities known.
In a reality where only 15% of sexual harassment victims from the general public file a complaint with the police and sexual abuse in religious communities is traditionally considered a taboo subject, Takana tries to create an alternative. The Forum has been hailed by different women’s organizations and activists as a model to be copied not only in other closed societies, but by the general public as well. The Forum is said to provide a safe environment for victims of sexual abuse and deals discreetly with the perpetrators.
Our speakers on this topic included:
MK Rachel Azaria, an orthodox activist on behalf of the rights of the victims of women and victims of sexual abuse.
Malka Puterkovsky, a founder and director of Forum Takana, women’s rights activist and a teacher who promotes women’s Torah study
