Judge Ruth Lavhar Sharon, wrote in her decision: “When the illegal activity of trafficking in women has been proven, as in this case, this is sufficent evidence to establish that there was damage caused to the victim. We have no alternative but to determine that the suffering [caused the victim] is part and parcel of the deed.” In this way, the district court adopted the HMW's position, which was that there is no need for a victim of trafficking to testify in order to establish the extent of damages. As the judge further stated, “There is no clearer case of damage where the extent is more difficult to establish, and where the damages are part and parcel of the very deeds.” In this bold decision, the court opened the window of opportuity for many women who fell victim to this violent crime, to sue those who trafficked them, even if they were deported from Israel and could not testify. The plaintiff was awarded 300,000 NIS in compensation, and additional 50,000 NIS in legal costs and fees.

The plaintiff was trafficked to Israel from one of the countries of the Former Soviet Union at a young age, after being told that she will work in Israel as a waitress. The defendant – the pimp, picked her up at the airport, took her passport, and told her that she had been “bought” to work as a prostitute. She was locked up in a brothel, while the defendant lived of her revenues. She received a daily wage of 50 NIS, or about $300 a month, out of which she was forced to pay $200 in rent. The plaintiff was held for several months in the brothel, until she was arrested and jailed. Only when she agreed to testify against her traffickers was she released.

Along with one other person, in a criminal case brought against him by the state, the defendant was found guilty of several counts, including human-trafficking, dealing in prostitution, bartering for prostitutes, retention of a passport, and violating a legal order. The defendant was given a very light prison sentence - only five years of actual incarceration.

The plaintiff was one of the key witnesses who helped the state to prosecute the trafficker, but like others in her position, was soon afterwards deported. Trafficking survivors find that one of the many obstacles they face when attempting to sue traffickers for damages is the authorities' unwillingness to provide them with temporary visas throughout the civil case. In addition, in the criminal cases against the traffickers, the courts tend to award only symbolic amounts in damages to the trafficked women (e.g., 5,000 NIS in this case), which is far from the amount needed for the rehabilitation process.

In this civil suit, the principle legal question examined was whether a victim of trafficking could be awarded compensation without proving damages, given that the legal procedure for damages “requires in general proof via the exhibition of evidence.” As the honorable Judge Lavhar Sharon formulated, “the legal question which derives from this, presented for the first time to the court, is whether such a victim is entitled to receive compensation without first having testified and demonstrated the amount of damages.”

The court adopted the claims of the "Hotline for Migrant Workers", and determined that “there is an inherent problem to demonstrating the damage, since usually the testimony [of the women] cannot be heard, because they are deported from Israel before they receive the opportunity to testify…on the other hand, the court cannot ignore this contemptible phenomenon which has plagued the country. There is no clearer case of damage where it is more difficult to establish, and where the damages are part and parcel of the very deeds. The facts enumerated in the criminal indictment are enough to serve as evidence for establishing the estimate of the damage. Thus it is necessary to expand the possibilities of appealing to the court in this case.”

The "Hotline for Migrant Workers" welcomes the court’s encouraging decision, hoping it will promote the human rights of the trafficking victims. Despite this progress, there is still a lot to be done, since the majority of trafficking victims are still arrested in Israel and sent to jails as if they were criminals. Deportation is only avoided if they agree to the demands of the Israeli state to testify against their traffickers. In a detailed report that will be published in the coming weeks, the HMW demands that victims of human trafficking be given a visa not conditioned on their willingness to testify. The visas should be given automatically so that the women can work for a year, for their own rehabilitation and leave the vicious circle of trafficking. That period will also enable them to decide whether to submit civil suits against their traffickers and pursue these suits.

The woman in this case was represented by Adv. Nomi Levenkron of the HMW, who received praise in the margins of the court decision for her “thorough work”. There is a restraining order that prohibits the publication of any details that could lead to the identification of the plaintiff.

Court File Number: 002191/02 a

Hotline for Migrant Workers website: http://www.hotline.org.il