Police enforce prostitution law unevenly, trafficking victims face visa barriers, comptroller finds
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
News
Named sources
Context piece
- Police enforcement of Israel's law against purchasing prostitution services is uneven, with most fines issued in a few stations, a state comptroller report found.
- Recognized victims of trafficking for prostitution have faced inconsistent decisions on residence visas from the Population and Immigration Authority.
- The report highlights significant gaps in enforcing the law, with a sharp decline in fines issued to purchasers and under-enforcement of trafficking offenses.
Israel's enforcement of its law prohibiting the purchase of prostitution services is heavily concentrated in a few police stations, while victims of trafficking for prostitution have encountered inconsistent decisions regarding their residence visas, according to a state comptroller report. The audit, covering December 2024 to July 2025, examined law enforcement, trafficking investigations, victim protection, and visa decisions.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated that the audit revealed "deep gaps in implementing the law" and expressed "significant concern of under-enforcement of offenses related to prostitution and, in particular, trafficking in women for prostitution purposes." Police issued 3,004 fines to purchasers in 2022, but this number plummeted to 902 in 2023 and 378 in 2024, before rising to 1,061 in 2025. This figure remains approximately 65% lower than in 2022.
The audit found deep gaps in implementing the law prohibiting the purchase of prostitution services, and a significant concern of under-enforcement of offenses related to prostitution and, in particular, trafficking in women for prostitution purposes.
The enforcement disparity is also geographical. Between 2021 and 2025, about 99% of fines were issued in the Tel Aviv, Central, and Coastal districts, primarily through specific police stations. In contrast, the Southern, Northern, and Jerusalem districts issued no fines in 2024, despite police having information on suspected prostitution venues in these areas. While police mapped over 1,300 suspected prostitution addresses nationwide in 2024, much of this intelligence was not acted upon.
Furthermore, the report criticized the low utilization of a rehabilitative-educational program as an alternative to fines, with only 2% of individuals completing it. Police also translated only 44% of their intelligence on human trafficking into operational activity in 2024. The report noted that some districts failed to solve any trafficking cases between 2022 and 2024.
The constitutional duty to protect human dignity, liberty and physical integrity lies at the heart of the state’s obligations.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
More Stories
From Our Blog
What Gets Lost (and Found) When News Is Translated
The Critical Role of Diaspora Media in Global News
What Travellers Should Know About Countries with Restricted Press
A Digital Nomad's Guide to Following Local News
How the Same Story Looks Different in Different Countries
