Analysis of thousands of sexual-assaults reports

Sexual violence is a devastating phenomenon with grave implications. Due to its calamitous prevalence, prevention of its occurrence and support to victims should be prioritized by law enforcement authorities and policy makers.

The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel is the umbrella organization of the nine regional centers in Israel, each serving as a first line of support to victims of sexual violence and their families.

One key approach in understanding the scope and nature of this phenomenon is investigating the needs of victims and patterns of assaults. To this end, Amit analyzed thousands of anonymous call reports gathered by the centers, using two main approaches. First, in a close collaboration with the association Amit statistically answered questions that rose from the volunteers operating the call-centers' hotlines (a hypothesis driven approach). Second, by a data-driven approach, Amit identified patterns emerging from the data itself.

The conclusions of this study may be used to adjust interventions to different patterns of sexual abuse, develop fine-grained educational programs and improve support frameworks to better suit victims' needs.