— Victims of rape will be given top priority in the emergency rooms of Israel’s hospitals regardless of which hospital’s emergency room is open, according to a new regulation announced today by the Health Ministry. A similar regulation was issued two years ago but was implemented only in some of the hospitals.
The new regulation, effective as of today, is intended as another measure to cope with the growing incidents of rape by easing the pressure on victims. According to the new procedure, a victim will be immediately checked by a senior gynecologist whose findings will serve as valid testimony in court. At the same time, the victim will be treated by a psychiatrist and a social worker. Until now a rape victim had to pass another checkup at a Kupat-Holim (sick-fund) clinic in order to obtain medical documents that would be considered as valid testimony in court proceedings.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
