Over one in four women in Israel, some 27%, have experienced violent behavior from a partner or relative, according to data collected by The Israel Women’s Network (IWN) and presented in the “Great Women’s Survey 2026,” published on Tuesday.
This figure represents at least 900,000 women, according to the IWN.
The survey also found that 10% of women, about 350,000, reported experiencing an injury inflicted by a partner or a relative. Additionally, 12%, or about 400,000 women, reported the use of threats or physical force against them for sexual purposes.
According to the survey, 10% of women experienced a partner or family member exerting control over their finances, and 17% reported obsessive jealousy, surveillance, or ongoing attempts at control.
The female population understands that violence does not begin with murder, but develops gradually through control, threats, jealousy, surveillance, and economic harm, according to the IWN.
"The picture that emerges from the findings of the Great Women's Survey is very, very worrying, with hundreds of thousands of women in Israel who are threatened by their partner or a family member," said Tomer Maron, head of research at the Women's Lobby.
"Femicide is the tip of the iceberg. The violence begins much earlier. We identify it in jealousy, surveillance, threats, and extortion with money, in effect, in every systematic undermining of the sense of security," Maron added.
Most women believe domestic violence not a private matter, believe police have ability, responsibility to prevent
The survey also examined public attitudes regarding state responsibility for preventing violence against women.
Some 81% of women reject the claim that domestic violence is a private matter that should be resolved within the family, and 61% of women oppose the claim that the police have no ability to prevent or reduce domestic murder cases, and place significant responsibility on the police for early intervention and enforcement of protective orders.
According to the survey, one third of respondents labeled the Israel Police as the central body responsible for preventing violence against women. The Welfare Ministry ranked second with 25%, followed by the Israeli government with 18%.
The survey was conducted among 1,003 women through the Geocartography Institute. It was designed to examine women’s sense of security in Israel and their personal experiences, beyond the extreme cases that make the headlines, and to present decision-makers with a broad picture of the scope of gender-based violence in the country.