Nearly all female Israeli lawmakers sexually abused

Of the total 32 current female lawmakers at the Israeli legislature, 28 revealed they had suffered from some sorts of sexual abuses in the past, Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported on Tuesday, citing a survey conducted by Israel’s Channel 2.

The report added that two of the lawmakers, Michal Biran from the center-left alliance Zionist Union, and Merav Ben Ari from the centrist party Kulanu, experienced the harassment even after they had entered the Knesset ('Parliament').

“Even today, the fact that I’m a single woman in the Knesset puts me in unpleasant situations. Sometimes people make comments … I don’t want to elaborate, but there was a situation recently in the Knesset,” said Ben Ari, speaking of a recent incident in the Knesset building.

The lawmakers also exposed different kinds of other sexual abuses, which happened on military buses or on the streets.

The issue of sexual misconduct is also frequently reported in the Israeli military, which has given rise to heated debates over the past years.

The Israeli military itself says it has launched about 250 investigations into sexual abuse allegations over the past two years. Twelve of the investigations concern alleged rape, up from eight in 2014 and five in 2013.