Selected Achievements

Reform of the Prostitution Law
Prof. Almog and Prof Rimalt were part of a coalition of feminist organizations and individuals who worked together for several years to introduce a landmark amendment to Israel’s Penal Law against the consumption of prostitution, and criminalizing sex clients and not prostitutes. As part of this effort both scholars presented their research in this area before numerous Knesset and government committees. The new law was passed by the Knesset in 2019 and took effect in 2020

Promoting Abortion Reform
Since 2014, the Forum has been involved in activities designed to liberalize abortion law in Israel and to guarantee better access to abortions to all women. In 2014, Prof. Rimalt drafted a proposal for a new abortion law that recognizes the right of every woman to end an unwanted pregnancy. Since its submission to the Knesset by MK Zehava Galon, the bill has been pending, and was recently updated and re-submitted by MK Rosin. In addition, together with a number of NGOs that focus on reproductive rights, the Forum is pushing for policy changes in the enforcement mechanisms of the current abortion law. Prof. Rimalt met with senior officials at the Ministry of Health and presented proposed procedural reforms in the work of the Pregnancy Termination Committees that would ensure better access to legal abortions for a greater number of women. Finally, in cooperation with the Feminist Legal Clinic and two other NGOs, the Forum established a hotline for women seeking abortion in the Haifa area. The hotline is operated by law students who have been specially trained for this work

Promoting Girls’ Rights
In honor of the International Day of the Girl Child in 2020, the Forum drafted a Declaration of Girls’ Rights, which was distributed to a large number of public schools in Israel together with an educational guide for teachers on how to discuss the issue of girls’ rights in classrooms. The Forum also produced a short video with girls discussing the rights they find most significant for them. On the International Day of the Girl Child in 2021, the Forum invited girls of all ages and sectors to create works of art that are inspired by the Declaration of Girls’ Rights in general, or by a specific right that is particularly meaningful to them. These works were showcased on the Forum website in an online exhibition entitled “I Have a Right.”

Research and Policy Papers
The Forum has produced and disseminated numerous research papers on central dilemmas of gender equality in Israel, including the spread of gender segregation practices to new areas in the public sphere; employee dismissal during pregnancy; the legal, ethical and political aspects of the regulation of fertilization technologies in Israel; women on the Internet; and the history and implementation of Israeli abortion law

:The Forum has organized symposia and workshops in Israel on a range of issues including
Women on the Margins Gender Equality, Diversity, and Multiculturalism (2024)
Beyond the Partition: Ultra orthdox Women, Power and  Politics (2024)
Abortion Politics Worldwide and the Future of Gender Equality (2023)
Gender, Politics and the Legal Profession with Dr. Barbara Giovanna Bello and The Forum for Gender, Law and Policy, University of Haifa EnRoL! – The Human Rights & Rule of Law Speaker Series (2023)
(2022)   With end of Roe v. Wade, Do Women in Israel Have it Better
(2022)   Abortion and Gender Equality in Israel – From Academia to Activism
(2022)     Gender, Reproductive Rights and Jewish law Israeli and American Perspectives
(2021)    Violence against women – Between the public and private sphere
(2021)    Gender Segregation and the Integration of Ultra-Orthodox Students in the Academia
(2021)    Gender Violence: Passion Crimes, Abortion and Economic Violence
(2020)    Routes of Ruth: Women Pursuers of Justice
(2016)    Gender Inequality: Between the Domestic Sphere and the Labor Market
(2015)    Women, War and Peace
(2015)    Women in the Net
(2014)    Ultra-Orthodox Women Promote Change

Workshops
The 2nd International Workshop on Gender Equity  in Academia (2024)
(2023)             Gender Equality in the Labor Market
(2022)    Gender Equity in  Academia–International Workshop
(2016)    Gender Inequality in the Workplace
(2015)    Sexuality and Law
(2014)    Towards a Comprehensive Reform of Israel’s Abortion Law