This initiative was established to promote a holistic response to victims of sexual abuse in Haredi society. Addressing this issue requires solutions tailored to the community’s unique characteristics, including therapeutic support (both immediate and long-term), legal response, educational and preventive efforts, and community-based support for victims alongside accountability for perpetrators. Within the Haredi mainstream, these responses cannot be advanced without the recognition and involvement of rabbinic leadership—community rabbis and senior leaders. The initiative focuses on research, mapping existing responses in the field, and strengthening them along two main axes: the Rabbis and Community program, which trains rabbis with the understanding that they are often the first responders to incidents of abuse within the community; and the Safe Environment program, which promotes safety education in cheiders [religious study frameworks for children] (currently in an initial pilot across 12 cheiders).
The initiative is expected to expand into additional areas of action.
