- Knesset hears harrowing new testimony of alleged ritual sexual abuse; survivors demand action - The testimonies describe patterns of abuse that survivors say were organized, repeated, ideologically framed, and allegedly carried out by groups of adults
- New York archdiocese seeks $300m to settle claims by clergy abuse survivors Largest US Catholic archdiocese is raising funds, selling assets and cutting costs to compensate about 1,300 victims
- Archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 people who accused its personnel of abuse, resulting in an $880m settlement in 2024.
- Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans and its insurers would pay $305m to about 600 abuse survivors of the clergy molestation scandal there
- Nearly 1 in 3 women – estimated 840 million globally – have experienced partner or sexual violence during their lifetime, a figure that has barely changed since 2000. In the last 12 months alone, 316 million women – 11% of those aged 15 or older – were subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Progress on reducing intimate partner violence has been painfully slow
Knesset hears harrowing new testimony of alleged ritual sexual abuse; survivors demand action - The testimonies describe patterns of abuse that survivors say were organized, repeated, ideologically framed, and allegedly carried out by groups of adults. By Sarah Ben-Nun December 3, 2025
Describes abuse and violence.
A series of profoundly distressing testimonies was delivered at the Knesset on Tuesday, as women described years of what they say were ritualized, organized sexual assaults they endured as children, including allegations of group rape, sadistic violence, and abuse that, in one case, was said to have occurred weekly in the office of a former MK.
The hearing, held jointly by the Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and the Special Committee on Youth, renewed urgent calls by lawmakers for law enforcement authorities to fully investigate the growing number of such accounts.
The testimonies, many of which have emerged publicly over the past several months, describe patterns of abuse that survivors say were organized, repeated, ideologically framed, and allegedly carried out by groups of adults, sometimes including figures in positions of authority. Though the accounts differ, they share recurring motifs: multiple perpetrators, use of drugs or intoxicants, coercive “ceremonies,” and violence far beyond conventional patterns of childhood sexual abuse.
Another survivor, identified as ‘S,’ described being kidnapped repeatedly as a child: “They tied me upside down. They electrocuted my intimate organs. They forced me to watch the murder of small babies. They made me dig my own grave. They are here among us.” She said she gave the police detailed testimony, including names, places, and descriptions, but does not feel her account has been taken seriously.
A third woman, referred to as ‘M’ and whose testimony was read aloud, said she endured abuse by family members, a doctor, a psychiatrist, and rabbis throughout her childhood. She described what she called a “ritual assault” suffered while she was in advanced pregnancy and said she was forced to commit “horrific acts” to save her unborn child....
Police added that a unit within the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit – which specializes in sexual offenses involving minors and digital exploitation – is now handling the issue under direct senior oversight, acknowledging as well the complexity of cases involving decades-old allegations, multiple perpetrators, and victims who may struggle with fragmented memories due to trauma.
However, one survivor, identified as ‘A,’ sharply criticized the investigative process. She said she spent more than 100 hours giving statements to police, only to learn the investigator “didn’t know the case file” and told her she could not reopen or cross-reference past evidence....
Over recent months, a wave of testimonies flooded social media and news reports describing alleged ritualized patterns of abuse, some within insular communities, others in secular settings.
Experts from NGOs such as Lo Omdot Me’Negged (“not standing aside”) and the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) said they have been receiving increasing reports that include highly similar details: multiple offenders, use of drugs or sedation, enforced secrecy, and ritual framing meant to terrify children or bind them psychologically to abusers.
Clinicians interviewed by several outlets have said that even if not all accounts can be proven, the consistency of patterns across unrelated survivors warrants serious attention, not dismissal. Police and prosecutors told MKs on Tuesday that they are learning the field and are coordinating more closely, including reevaluating past files and considering legislative needs. https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-879095
New York archdiocese seeks $300m to settle claims by clergy abuse survivors
Largest US Catholic archdiocese is raising funds, selling assets and cutting costs to compensate about 1,300 victims Lucy Campbell Tue 9 Dec 2025
The Roman Catholic archdiocese of New York – the largest organization of its kind in the US – is raising a $300m fund as it seeks to settle with about 1,300 survivors of clergy sexual abuse who have sued the church. Some of the money involved comes from the New York archdiocese’s cutting costs and selling off assets after Catholic priests, deacons and lay workers worldwide sexually preyed on children for decades – with the abusers being protected by their superiors....
Furthermore, the archdiocese agreed to engage retired judge Daniel J Buckley as a mediator between itself and survivors to reach a settlement. Buckley played a similar role in negotiations between the archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 1,000 people who accused its personnel of abuse, resulting in an $880m settlement in 2024.
With civil litigation against the archdiocese of New York due to come to trial in 2026, the archdiocese agreed to negotiate settlements over the next two months, said attorney Jeff Anderson. Anderson, who represents about 300 of the reported 1,311 survivors in New York with claims dating from 1952 to 2020, said settlements would have to be accompanied by full disclosure of wrongdoing and measures to prevent future abuse....
The announcement of the New York settlement negotiations came on the same day that officials revealed the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans and its insurers would pay $305m to about 600 abuse survivors of the clergy molestation scandal there....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/09/new-york-archdiocese-fundraising-abuse-claims
New Orleans Catholic clergy abuse survivors in line to collectively be paid $305m Attorneys for the victims struck deal with the church’s largest insurer to increase $230m settlement approved earlier Ramon Antonio Vargas and David Hammer of WWL Louisiana Mon 8 Dec 2025
Roughly 600 survivors of the clergy molestation scandal that drove the New Orleans Catholic archdiocese into bankruptcy have secured the opportunity to collectively be paid $305m after attorneys for the victims and the church’s largest insurer struck a deal Monday, according to some of the lawyers....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/payment-survivors-sexual-abuse-new-orleans
Lifetime toll: 840 million women faced partner or sexual violence 19 November 2025 Violence against women remains one of the world’s most persistent and under-addressed human rights crises, with very little progress in two decades, according to a landmark report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners.
Nearly 1 in 3 women – estimated 840 million globally – have experienced partner or sexual violence during their lifetime, a figure that has barely changed since 2000. In the last 12 months alone, 316 million women – 11% of those aged 15 or older – were subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Progress on reducing intimate partner violence has been painfully slow with only 0.2% annual decline over the past two decades.
For the first time, the report includes national and regional estimates of sexual violence by someone other than a partner. It finds 263 million women have experienced non-partner sexual violence since age 15, a figure experts caution is significantly under-reported due to stigma and fear.
https://www.who.int/news/item/19-11-2025-lifetime-toll--840-million-women-faced-partner-or-sexual-violence
