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WIZO Launches First Emergency Hotline for Men

The WIZO emergency hotline for violent men, the first and only service of its kind in Israel, has now been launched in conjunction with the Israeli Ministry of Social Welfare.

The hotline is accessible throughout Israel to those who may have been involved in a violent relationship or who are in fear of displaying aggressive behaviour in the future. Encouragement is given to these men to register for counselling at designated WIZO centres.

Currently the men’s hotline operates four times a week, manned by specially trained males and supervised by social workers. However it needs additional funding to enable WIZO to extend its hours of operation to a minimum eight hours daily and to train more volunteers.

After contacting the hotline, men who are willing to receive counselling find a supportive framework where they can express their feelings and frustrations says Tova Ben-Dov, World WIZO chairperson. “We provide our clients with a personalised treatment plan and hopefully we are able to prevent further violence. We aim to increase the number of men we treat and provide counselling to family members on how to assist violent fathers to get much-needed help.”

Nurit adds: “WIZO’s hotline for violent men, in conjunction with our counselling services, will continue to play an important part in increasing public awareness of domestic violence in Israel. The hotline conveys the message that abuse is not only the problem of the victim but also that of the perpetrator”.