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Report: Police Do Nothing To Stop Trade In Women Nearly half of all women who arrived in Israel from abroad and were sold to pimps report that police had visited the brothels where they were employed - as clients - despite knowing that the women were subjected to inhumane conditions, worked 13-hour days, and at times were beaten and imprisoned, according to a report published Sunday by three Israeli human rights organizations. The report, published by the "Hotline for Migrant Workers," the "Adva Center" which provides information on equality and social justice in Israel, and "Woman to Woman - Haifa Feminist Center," is based on wide-ranging interviews with 106 victims of the illegal trade in women, which were conducted in prisons as well as various hiding places. The interviews reveal that the vast majority of the women had not worked as prostitutes prior to their arrival in Israel, and that most of them came to the country due to economic hardships. 72 percent of the women were smuggled across the Egyptian border, then sold to Israelis, themselves mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union. The chilling interviews reveal that 40 percent of the women were imprisoned in the brothels where they worked. 33 percent reported being treated violently by pimps and clients alike, and 8 percent were deprived of food. While the pimps charged between NIS 100 and 600 for their services, the women themselves received a mere NIS 20 per client, while 13 percent reported they were not paid at all. The women reported that most of the clients were Israelis, including minors, contradicting police reports according to which the majority of clients were foreign workers. The report warns against the obtuse attitude of enforcement authorities and of the state towards the victims, who are still regarded mainly as criminals who are staying in Israel illegally. It points to the fact that despite countless government decisions, a safe house has yet to be set up for victims to turn to while they await to testify against their pimps. The issue of trading in women in Israel will be discussed on Monday at the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Trading in Women, headed by MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz).
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