Following an Israeli news report that 88 percent of Israel’s female lawmakers experienced harassment, MKs who told their stories hope they sent an empowering message to women.

At the end of May, the top-rated Israeli news program broadcast a statistic that made waves in the Knesset: Of the 32 female lawmakers at the time (there are now 33), 28 had experienced sexual harassment or assault. Channel 2 Knesset reporter Daphna Liel dedicated nearly 15 minutes of the prime-time news hour to having nine Israeli MKs tell their stories, ranging from experiencing humiliating comments to assault.

“I never told my mother about this, I’m afraid to see how she’ll react,” MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin (Zionist Union) told viewers. “When I was 13 or 14, I was roller skating, and an older man pulled me into a stairwell. He looked down my shirt and said he was looking for pretty girls. It took me years to understand.” Continue reading