Femicide and Domestic Violence Against Women During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Israeli Case

• Published date: 01 May 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862241245889
• Author: Limor Yehuda,Irit Ein-Tal
• Date: 01 May 2024

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862241245889

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2024, Vol. 40(2) 382 –396

© The Author(s) 2024

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862241245889

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Article

Femicide and Domestic

Violence Against Women

During the First Year of the

COVID-19 Pandemic: The

Israeli Case

Limor Yehuda1 and Irit Ein-Tal2

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical study of femicide and intimate partner violence

(IPV) in Israel during 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared

to previous years. Studies worldwide found elevated IPV during 2020 and a mixed

picture of femicide, as both increases and decreases were reported, depending on

the country. In Israel, the media reported a growth in IPV and femicide. However,

no comprehensive empirical comparison of femicide and IPV during the lockdown

months in 2020 in comparison to previous years was conducted. The current study

fills this gap, comparing the 2014–2020 period in terms of IPV and femicide to

determine whether the first pandemic year was unusual in terms of femicide and IPV.

Data were collected from news websites, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) report,

and annual public police reports to break down case-by-case femicide reports. The

findings show a growth in femicide and IPV in the pandemic’s first year, compared to

2019. However, compared to previous years, 2020 was not unusually high in terms

of femicide. However, IPV was higher in 2020 than that in previous years. Hence, the

media claims about the pandemic’s elevated risk of femicide and IPV are only partially

true.

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic, femicide, violence against women, domestic violence, lockdown

1Ashkelon Academic College, Israel

2The Western Galilee Academic College, ACRE, Israel

Corresponding Author:

Limor Yehuda, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, 1246590, Israel.

Email: Limoriho1@edu.aac.ac.il

1245889CCJXXX10.1177/10439862241245889Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeYehuda and Ein-Tal

research-article2024