Adv. Nitzan Kahana, Co-Director of TFHT, wrote on the YNet website after Shaked's declaration: "One-hundred years after women were awarded the right to vote, the suffragettes of our generation have stood up and said, “No more! We will no longer be satisfied with a handful of women holding key positions; it is not enough we can enlist in combat units or that the Minister of Justice is a woman. We will no longer tolerate a situation in which thousands of women are sexually exploited every single night under the protection of the law. This has to cease, immediately." (click for article in Hebrew)
We wish to state clearly that Shaked's historic position did not emerge from a vacuum. We at TFHT have stepped up our campaign in recent months. Our achievements could not have occurred without all our joint efforts – the thousands of supporters and activists, the dedicated aid workers, the brave survivors of prostitution, the female MKs who declared that they will no longer tolerate cynicism, and the male MKs who demanded nothing less than true equality.
We sent hundreds of e-mails to Minister Shaked; we demonstrated; we joined with members of "We Will Not Stand By – Helping Women Trapped in the Cycle of Prostitution"; and marched on the SlutWalk holding banners calling on Minister Shaked to promote the legislation. We authored and arranged for the publication of articles about this issue in the media. Above all, we did not relent, because exploitation of prostituted women must never be tolerated. We must break the cycle of their brutalization.
Despite good wishes for this impending success, we cannot afford the luxury of rest. In coming months, we shall lobby to ensure the Prohibition of Consumption of Prostitution Services and Community Treatment Bill will be passed and become law in the State of Israel.
Therefore, we are calling on you this week to ensure that Minister Shaked honors her commitment to present the memorandum of law to the Knesset on June 13th. Please send an e-mail today to all the MKs inviting them to the session, reminding them of the importance of promoting this law and encouraging them to issue public calls of support for advancing the legislation.
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