"Excessive" intervention by the parents can save their children from trauma for life and God forbid from being a victim of very cruel people"
170 applications were received in the acute room in Bnei Zion in Haifa in 2019, 10% of them male - this year there was a decrease of about 70% in the number of applications due to the corona virus.
In a reformed country there should be an acute room in every hospital. Israel has an acute room in only five hospitals: Bnei Zion in Haifa, Feda Furia in Tiberias, Wolfson in Holon, Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem and Soroka in Be'er Sheva. which are supposed to cater to a population of nine million people.
These are rooms that respond to the hardships faced by victims of sexual assault, such as: medical and psychological care, preventive care that includes birth control drugs, the provision of vaccines and drugs against infections and sexually transmitted diseases, and they employ a medical team that includes doctors, nurses, social workers and psychologists.
Following the shocking rape incident that took place in Eilat, the Hai Pe system held a special interview with the director of the acute center at Bnei Zion Hospital in Haifa, Dr. Max Cohen.
"The acute room is an abbreviation for the acute center for the treatment of victims of sexual assault. The acute room is staffed by a team of gynecologists who were trained by the Center for Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir and the Ministry of Health and underwent special training on the subject. which check the victims from the first week they were attacked. A social worker who gives all the answers and emotional support to the victim after the incident.
The victims are sometimes referred by the police, sometimes by another hospital and sometimes privately and either way is acceptable.
When the victim arrives at the emergency room, she is supported by the social worker team, and we are one of the doctors who is an expert in gynecology and has undergone training, treats her gynecologically and gives her the appropriate gynecological response and, of course, preventive treatment to prevent diseases and the like.
If she has other mental or physical trauma such as bruises on her body and she needs an orthopedist or another doctor, she receives treatment in the same hospital setting, and that is the role of the acute center, he helps her in the first week of her injury."
"And why in the first week? Because the legal evidentiary findings that we learned to process after the injury, like DNA, survive only 72 hours after the injury and were valid.
It should be noted that those who contact us after a week, we give them a telephone consultation. But for victims who wish to contact after a week, they can contact sexual assault assistance centers where they are answered and referred to doctors and given medication and everything needed.
prophylactic drug
The woman who comes as a victim is always confused and emotionally upset and does not know what happened and what is happening to her, that is why we give her a prophylactic drug to prevent pregnancy and give her a drug to prevent the development of an infection that could harm her or her fertility."
170 applications were received in the acute room in Bnei Zion in Haifa in 2019, 10% of them male
"In the acute room in Bnei Zion last year 2019, 130 physical inquiries were received and about 40 telephone inquiries. Of the 130 inquiries, about 13 (10%) were male. The average age of the applicants is between 19-30 (about 50% between the ages of 19-23 and the rest between the ages of 23 -30)".
A drop of about 70% in the number of referrals due to the corona virus
"Since the beginning of the year due to the corona virus, we had a decrease in the number of applicants and people were afraid to come and apply even though we left the room open 24/7. This is a decrease of about 70% from a normal year. Because in the following years every year there is an increase in the number of applications due to the awareness that such a thing exists."
The later the referral is made, the more severe the PTSD will be
"The trauma that accompanies the victims depends on the personality of each and every one of the victims, how strong he is mentally and how many support circles he has. This is a very important and influential thing and we try to help as much as possible. Beyond that, the more quickly that victim is treated and supported by an aid center or a professional It helps more with rehabilitation. The more he repressed it and the later the referral, the later the post-traumatic disorder will appear and be more severe."
In a significant part of the inquiries, these are victims who drugged them with rape drugs or were under the influence of alcohol
"In the case that was published in the media and took place in Eilat, that girl was raped under the influence of alcohol. And at our center in Bnei Zion, a significant part of the inquiries are girls who were drugged with all kinds of drugs, such as rape drugs, which disappear from the blood within 8-12 hours, so it is critical to arrive quickly. A woman who is not Remembering what they did to her and waking up in a strange place, she must quickly go to an aid center or an acute room because every hour is critical. The effects of alcohol are also very serious and very obscuring and prevent the woman from refusing, and unfortunately we see a lot of inquiries from women who drank a respectable amount of alcohol and then had an event or with partial consent or no consent at all".
Most rape cases occur either by friends/acquaintances or family members
"Most of the reported sexual assaults are committed by friends or family members or people whom the victims met through dating websites or at a meeting of one kind or another and went out together to a place of recreation. There are few cases where the rape is committed by a stranger on a dark street like the stories we know from the movies."
The protection of the victim's privacy is requested, but we are obliged to report sexual assault to the police
"According to the law, we are obligated to report a sexual assault to the police, but the woman is not obligated to complain. The police come and try to convince the woman to file a complaint in order to open an investigation and try to get their hands on the same rapist. The protection of the victim's privacy is required throughout the treatment of her, including the official mechanisms of the welfare and the municipality and the government."

Both things are important that must be done: making acute rooms accessible to everyone and in all hospitals and information in schools and community settings.
"There are two important things that need to be addressed immediately
First: The accessibility of the places to which you can turn in case of sexual assault. In the entire State of Israel there are five acute centers with five rooms for a population of nine million people. We at Bnei Zion have an acute room, in Feda Furia in Tiberias that works during the day, in Wolfson in Holon, in Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem and Soroka in Be'er Sheva. The entire periphery of the country suffers from a complete lack of accessibility. For that matter, if we take Kiryat Shmona in the north, which has no accessibility, and Eilat, which is an entertainment center, also has no accessibility, and I think that such rooms should be established.
Second thing: The subject of advocacy. It is necessary to explain both in the schools and in community settings to the youth what is allowed and what is not allowed and what should be done if, God forbid, an incident occurs within the family as well as within society."
Over-intervention by the parents can save their children from trauma for life and God forbid from being a victim of very cruel people
A message to parents and young people:
For parents: Pay close attention to what is happening with your children, where they are going, don't be ashamed to question them and don't be ashamed to give them rules of thumb so that they can protect themselves. This will appear to teenagers as over-intervention but the over-intervention can save your children from a lifetime of trauma and God forbid from being a victim of very cruel people.
For young people: In the event that a case happens, don't hesitate to contact those who can help you professionally.