1202
Haifa
One of a network of hotlines run by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. Free, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Aviv Tessler manages school programs and outreach at the Haifa Rape Crisis Center, one of ten centers across Israel operating under the Association of Rape Crisis Centers. Together, they run a network of hotlines: 1202 answered by women, 1203 answered by ment, 2511 for religious women, and a separate line, 04-6566813, for the Arab community, answered in Arabic.
Aviv came to this work through HR. As the person in charge of workplace sexual harassment training at a previous job, she realized she was more interested in the subject than in HR itself. She joined HRCC five years ago and now leads its educational programming in schools, youth movements, and government boarding schools.
Her workshops last an hour, sometimes ninety minutes. In each one, she teaches students what sexual assault actually looks like, which is rarely a stranger in a dark alley, and much more often someone the person already knows. In Israel, nearly 90% of assaults are committed by someone known to the survivor. Over half occur at home. She teaches them what healthy, mutual, respectful sexual relationships look like. And she teaches them that there is a number to call when they need it.
When Aviv started this work, that question surprised her. It doesn’t anymore. To her, it’s prevention par excellence.
Since the Me Too movement, calls to 1202 have gone from 30,000 a year to 55,000. Women are calling closer to the time of the assault, weeks or months instead of years. Police have started requesting HRCC representatives be present when a woman comes to file a complaint, when a few years ago the representative would have asked to leave.
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