Courts handed down tougher sentences last year for trafficking in women, but they were still far lighter than the maximum 16 years in prison, a Knesset subcommittee heard yesterday.

MK Zahava Gal-On (Yahad), who chairs the subcommittee on combating trafficking in women, said that courts are continuing to show misguided mercy for traffickers.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Likud) said that an agreement with the treasury had finally been reached yesterday to fund a post for an interministerial coordinator for combating trafficking, as required by a cabinet decision on the matter.

According to data submitted by the Hotline for Migrant Workers, since trafficking in humans was classified an offense under Israeli law, traffickers have received punishments of between six month community service and 12 years in prison for trafficking and other crimes. The average sentence in cases that included a trafficking charge was six years in prison and two years suspended. Most cases ended in a plea bargain - a pattern the committee termed "worrisome."

Data also suggested that courts are reluctant to order compensatory damages for victims. While the law allows maximum compensation of NIS 228,000, the amounts ordered have been NIS 3,500-35,000.