Ministerial Award in Field of Domestic Violence

Israel’s Minister for Social Equality and the Advancement of Women announced that WIZO has been awarded the “Ministerial Award in the Field of Combating Violence Against Women” for 2024. This honor recognizes our unique and significant contribution to this field during the Iron Swords war.
For several years, the Minister for Social Equality and Advancement of Women has awarded a special honor to organizations that have made a unique and significant contribution to the fight against violence against women. This award aims to raise public awareness of domestic violence. This year, the award is being presented in the context of extraordinary contributions made during Operation Iron Swords. WIZO is proud to be a recipient of this prestigious award.
The award will be presented at a ceremony in the presence of the President of Israel and his wife on February 3rd.
WIZO, a global and activist Zionist women’s movement, is dedicated to promoting women’s empowerment across various aspects of life. During the war, WIZO led significant initiatives to support women survivors of violence in the Southern region, ensuring practical solutions that addressed the unique challenges of wartime. This included providing emotional support to women experiencing anxiety and cumulative distress, particularly during intense missile attacks on the southern city where our women’s shelter is located (location is unstated to protect the residents).
Additionally, WIZO launched emergency community programs nationwide, assisting women leaving cycles of violence and their children in rocket-targeted areas in the north and south. Special programs were also implemented to support evacuated women, young mothers, and wives of reservists.

Since the war broke out, WIZO has focused on strengthening Israeli society’s resilience—especially its women and mothers —by ensuring they are seen, heard, and supported. WIZO developed programs and workshops for reservists’ families, families evacuated from the south, and now, we are turning our attention to families in the north.
We understand that the war of October 7th has fundamentally changed Israel’s reality—the home front, once protected, has become the front line.
Women—mothers of soldiers, mothers of young children and teenagers forced to evacuate, and women who have left cycles of violence—are just as heroic as the soldiers on the battlefield. They face daily struggles caused by the war, managing fear, anxiety, and instability while single-handedly holding their families together. They are the backbone of our civil and social resilience. Without them, Israeli society cannot stand.
The shelter for women survivors of violence that we operate in southern Israel was one of the first established in the country and has existed for over 40 years. Since the war began, it has been on the front lines, enduring heavy rocket fire. The women and children in the shelter, already traumatized by their personal experiences, now faced an additional layer of collective trauma from the October 7th attacks and the intense missile barrages on the south.
The shelter plays a crucial role as a therapeutic space, providing both protection and rehabilitation.
Our dedicated shelter staff has supported countless women from all walks of Israeli society, all of whom share a common history of violent and oppressive relationships that threatened their lives and well-being. The team works tirelessly to provide a stable and secure environment where women can undergo rehabilitation and ultimately reintegrate safely into the community.
The professional staff is deeply committed, offering individual and group therapy for women and their children, along with enrichment activities and recreational programs. Our teams have developed emergency-response tools, strengthened therapeutic and emotional support, created stabilizing routines for women and children, and maintained strong ties with external professionals and supportive communities.
The war did not spare our teams—some were called up for reserve duty, some were evacuated from their homes, and others suffered personal losses and hardships. Despite it all, they have shown unwavering dedication, performing beyond expectations in the face of complex crises. For that, we extend our deepest gratitude.