Supreme Court to Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs: Further Delay in Re-Opening of Secure Shelter for Young Arab Women at Risk is Unacceptable
At a hearing on 22 February 2005, the Supreme Court of Israel issued an order nisi demanding that the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs explain within 30 days why not to open a secure shelter for young Arab women at risk by 1 June 2005. The Ministry has so far postponed the opening of a shelter five times, assuring the Court on each occasion that a shelter would be opened after a few months. To date, sixteen months have passed since a petition was filed by Adalah to the Supreme Court on 9 October 2003 asking the Court to compel the Minister to immediately open a suitable shelter.
The petition was filed by Adalah Attorney Gadeer Nicola on behalf of three feminist organizations: Women Against Violence, Assiwar - The Palestinian Feminist Center in Support of Victims of Sexual Abuse, and Kayan - A Feminist Organization, and in Adalah's own name. It was submitted in response to the Minister's closure almost two years ago at the end of May 2003 of the "Ma'on Hagalil" shelter in Akka, which was the only state-funded secured shelter serving Arab young women in danger of physical abuse; those who were judged by the courts to be a threat to themselves or others; and as an alternative to incarceration for juvenile offenders. The Minister did not initiate a comparable service option to meet the needs of young Arab women, and many of the shelter's residents were left with nowhere to go.
Representing the petitioners, Adalah demanded at the hearing that the Ministry open the shelter as soon as possible, and contended that any further delay is unacceptable, since that there are many young women currently in dire need of the shelter, and that the more time that passes without its facilities being available to them, the more detrimental the effect on their wellbeing becomes. Adalah further argued that the Ministry has failed to adequately justify these repeated delays, and stressed that the Ministry has not offered any alternative solution for Arab girls in need of the secure and protective environment provided by a secure shelter. During the hearing, the Court concurred with Adalah that the continued delays are not acceptable, and stated that they have become excessive.
In the petition, Adalah argued that the failure to open a secure shelter for young Arab women at risk violates the principle of equality on the basis of gender and national belonging: Arab women citizens of Israel form a distinct sub-group, and thus are being discriminated against, since young Arab women are the only group not provided with an appropriate shelter. The Ministry funds secured shelters for Jewish teenaged girls, for Jewish teenaged boys, and for Arab teenaged boys. Adalah further argued that the Ministry's policy violates the rule of law, as under Israeli law appropriate alternatives must be available to the courts for teenagers at risk. The lack of a secured shelter for young Arab women leaves them with almost no options: assignment to a shelter for Jewish youth (which operate at full capacity and have long waiting lists), imprisonment, or living on the streets, all present a range of intractable problems.
H.C. 9111/03, Women Against Violence, et. al. v. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, (case pending).
