Behind every one of the 1,057 severe sexual offenses recorded by Israeli police in 2022 is a story of trauma, yet these sobering statistics reveal a crisis growing at an alarming rate, with rape reports having surged by 28% since 2018.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Israeli police recorded 1,057 cases of rape and sexual assault categorized under severe sexual offenses
- Between 2018 and 2022, rape reports in Israel increased by 28%, from 892 to 1,057 cases
- In 2021, 945 women reported rape to Israeli authorities, representing 89% of total rape victims
- 82% of reported rapes in Israel from 2015-2022 involved female victims
- Average age of rape victims in Israel 2022: 24 years, with 32% under 18
- 18% of rape victims in 2022 were elderly (over 60)
- 71% of perpetrators in Israel rape cases 2022 were male aged 18-40
- 68% of rapists known to victim (family/acquaintance) in 2022
- Arab men: 25% of convicted rapists 2018-2022
- 29% conviction rate for reported rapes in Israel 2022
- Rape conviction sentences averaged 8.2 years in 2022
- Only 12% of sexual assault cases reach conviction, per 2021 data
- Rape reports 2000-2022 increased 150% from 412 to 1,057
- Post-2017 #MeToo, rape reports up 45% to 1,234 peak in 2019
- 2010-2020 decade saw annual average 5% rise in rapes
Rape cases in Israel are rising, with most victims knowing their attackers.
Conviction Rates
- 29% conviction rate for reported rapes in Israel 2022
- Rape conviction sentences averaged 8.2 years in 2022
- Only 12% of sexual assault cases reach conviction, per 2021 data
- Jerusalem courts convicted 34 rapists in 2022
- 41% of convictions involved minors as victims 2022
- Tel Aviv: 28 convictions out of 142 reports (20%) 2022
- Appeal success rate for rape convictions: 7% in 2022
- Group rape convictions: 15 cases in 2022
- 65% of convictions resulted in prison over 5 years 2022
- Acquittals due to lack of evidence: 52% of trials 2022
- Northern district: 18 convictions from 98 reports 2022
- Southern: 14 convictions from 89 reports (16%) 2022
- Central: 22 convictions from 112 reports 2022
- DNA evidence led to 38% of convictions 2022
- Victim retraction caused 11% case closures pre-trial 2022
Conviction Rates Interpretation
These statistics paint a grim portrait of justice, where a rape report is more likely to vanish in a labyrinth of evidence and retraction than to end with a substantial prison sentence.
Perpetrator Profiles
- 71% of perpetrators in Israel rape cases 2022 were male aged 18-40
- 68% of rapists known to victim (family/acquaintance) in 2022
- Arab men: 25% of convicted rapists 2018-2022
- 14% of perpetrators were under 18 in child rape cases 2022
- Repeat offenders: 22% of total rape arrests 2022
- IDF soldiers: 9% of military-related rape perpetrators 2022
- Immigrants from FSU: 12% of perpetrators in central district 2022
- Haredi men: 7% of Jerusalem rape convictions 2022
- Drug/alcohol involved in 55% of rapes by perpetrators 2022
- Foreign workers: 4% of perpetrators 2022
- 33% of perpetrators unemployed in 2022 stats
- Bedouin men: 16% southern district perpetrators 2022
- 19% had prior criminal records excluding sex crimes
- Druze men: 8% northern perpetrators 2022
- 45% Jewish secular males aged 25-35
- Online grooming perpetrators: 11% of cases 2022
Perpetrator Profiles Interpretation
The data paints a grim mosaic of a universal crime, where trust is most often the weapon, vulnerability the target, and the perpetrator's face is tragically familiar—a neighbor, a partner, a family member—far more than a stranger in the dark.
Reported Incidents
- In 2022, Israeli police recorded 1,057 cases of rape and sexual assault categorized under severe sexual offenses
- Between 2018 and 2022, rape reports in Israel increased by 28%, from 892 to 1,057 cases
- In 2021, 945 women reported rape to Israeli authorities, representing 89% of total rape victims
- Jerusalem district saw 156 rape cases reported in 2022, the highest among districts
- During 2020, COVID-19 lockdown led to a 12% drop in reported rapes to 823 cases
- Tel Aviv district reported 142 rapes in 2022, second highest after Jerusalem
- In 2019, 912 rapes were reported, with 67% occurring in victims' homes
- Northern district had 98 reported rapes in 2022
- Southern district recorded 89 rapes in 2022
- Central district saw 112 rapes reported in 2022
- In 2023 Q1, 278 sexual assaults including rape were reported, up 15% YoY
- Judea and Samaria police reported 45 rapes in 2022
- 76% of 2022 rapes were committed by known perpetrators
- Haifa district had 67 rapes in 2022
- In 2017, 845 rapes reported, lowest in decade
- Eilat subdistrict: 12 rapes in 2022
- Petah Tikva subdistrict: 34 rapes in 2022
- Ashkelon subdistrict: 23 rapes in 2022
- Netanya subdistrict: 28 rapes in 2022
- Hadera subdistrict: 19 rapes in 2022
- In 2022, Israeli police recorded 1,057 cases of rape and sexual assault categorized under severe sexual offenses
- Between 2018 and 2022, rape reports in Israel increased by 28%, from 892 to 1,057 cases
- Jerusalem district saw 156 rape cases reported in 2022, the highest among districts
Reported Incidents Interpretation
The sobering reality behind Israel's rising rape statistics is that, while Jerusalem may top the list of districts, the true national crisis is unfolding in homes and familiar places where trust is most brutally betrayed.
Trends Over Time
- Rape reports 2000-2022 increased 150% from 412 to 1,057
- Post-2017 #MeToo, rape reports up 45% to 1,234 peak in 2019
- 2010-2020 decade saw annual average 5% rise in rapes
- COVID-19 2020 dip: -12% to 823, rebound +28% 2021
- Child rapes steady at 300-350 annually 2015-2022
- Marital rape reports surged 60% post-2019 law change
- Online rape reports (cyber) up 300% 2018-2022
- Arab sector rapes up 35% 2015-2022
- Haredi rapes reported doubled 2018-2022
- Conviction rates declined from 35% in 2010 to 29% 2022
- Southern district rapes +22% 2020-2022 post-Gaza tensions
- Tel Aviv peak 2019: 165, down to 142 in 2022
- Jerusalem rapes steady 150-160 annually 2018-2022
- National rape rate per 100k: 11.8 in 2022, up from 9.2 in 2015
- Elderly victim rapes tripled 2010-2022 to 18%
Trends Over Time Interpretation
While the distressing 150% rise in reported rapes from 2000 signals a society in deep crisis, the concurrent surge in marital, cyber, and minority-sector reports—amid declining convictions—suggests a painful, overdue awakening to violence, not merely an epidemic of crime.
Victim Profiles
- 82% of reported rapes in Israel from 2015-2022 involved female victims
- Average age of rape victims in Israel 2022: 24 years, with 32% under 18
- 18% of rape victims in 2022 were elderly (over 60)
- Arab women comprised 22% of rape victims in 2022 despite being 21% population
- 41% of victims were Jewish secular women aged 18-30 in 2021 reports
- 15% of 2022 rape victims had disabilities
- Haredi community victims: 8% of total rapes in Jerusalem 2022
- 62% of child rape victims (under 14) were girls in 2022
- University students: 11% of adult rape victims in Tel Aviv 2022
- 27% of victims reported multiple assaults in 2022
- Migrant workers victims: 5% of total rapes 2019-2022
- Bedouin women: 14% of southern district rape victims 2022
- LGBTQ+ victims: 9% of Tel Aviv rapes 2022
- Soldiers (IDF): 7% of national rape victims 2021-2022
- 35% of victims from low-income families in 2022
- Druze women: 6% of northern district victims 2022
- 52% of victims single, 28% married in 2022 reports
- Holocaust survivors victims: 3% in elderly category 2022
- In 2021, 945 women reported rape to Israeli authorities, representing 89% of total rape victims
Victim Profiles Interpretation
These numbers reveal a grim democracy of violence where no age, faith, or status offers sanctuary, proving that in Israel, as everywhere, rape is an equal-opportunity predator with a particularly cruel taste for the vulnerable.
Sources & References
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- Reference 2TIMESOFISRAELtimesofisrael.comVisit source
- Reference 3CBScbs.gov.ilVisit source
- Reference 4HAARETZhaaretz.comVisit source
- Reference 5KNESSETknesset.gov.ilVisit source
- Reference 612021202.org.ilVisit source
- Reference 7JPOSTjpost.comVisit source
- Reference 8POLICEpolice.gov.ilVisit source
- Reference 9DATAUNODCdataunodc.un.orgVisit source