Five women have been murdered in Israel since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak, two of them at the end of April.

Figures collected by the Ministry of Welfare since the lockdown began about seven weeks ago show that there were four times as many incidents of violence against women than in the same period last year. In 2019, 13 women were killed in Israel by domestic violence. The past few weeks show a sharp rise in the prevalence of this tragic phenomenon.

Professionals in the field agree that the reason is the extended lockdown, which has forced people to remain at home. Living in such close proximity under tense conditions has had a pressure-cooker effect, increasing the likelihood of violence within the family. Helplines and women’s shelters have reported a rise in the number of women contacting them, but they also note that they are having a hard time providing an adequate response to everyone.

Just a few days ago, two women were murdered by their partners — Mastwell Alaza on April 28 and Tatiana Haikin on May 3. To make matters worse, in both cases, the men had been arrested in the past and even served time in prison for assaulting their partners. Nevertheless, the violence continued after their release as the authorities failed to protect the victims.