Human Rights Award Recipients: The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, Professor Kenneth Mann, and the Public Defender’s Office
The Human Rights Award, in memory of the late Emil Grunzweig, is awarded annually by ACRI to people or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to Human Rights in Israel. The Committee chose to present the 2014-2015 award to: The Association for Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, Professor Kenneth Mann and the Public Defender’s Office.
The Association of Rape Crisis Centers (ARCCI) received the award in honor of its 25 years of work towards combating sexual violence and promoting the rights of victims; and in recognition of the tremendous change that ARCCI has made to Israeli society. The ARCCI is an umbrella organization of 9 centers that operate to assist victims of sexual violence, raise awareness and give a voice to the oppressed.
The ARCCI affected major change in the struggle against the de-legitimization of complainants and against harmful media coverage on the topic of sexual violence. The ARCCI’s achievements include the creation of a code of ethics intended to guide the presentation of sex crimes in the media; the first project of its kind in the world to create a “code of consent” to prevent sexual harassment by employers; and the development of a range of services for victims of sexual assault, such as an alternative to hospitalization that is dedicated to victims of sexual assault.
The committee decided to give the ARCCI this award for “the tremendous change made in the way that society relates to the phenomenon of sexual violence – the subject that was regarded as marginal and only concerning a small minority, is now understood by the broad public as an issue which affects all levels of society and has social, economic and post importantly, difficult personal implications.
Prof. Kenneth Mann founded The Public Defender’s Office and served as the first national defense attorney from 1996-2002. The Committee presented Professor Mann with the award for his contribution to the protection of human rights in criminal procedures; and to the Public Defender’s Office, which is marking its 20th anniversary this year. Since its establishment, the Public Defender’s Office has provided quality legal representation for suspects, detainees, defendants and prisoners; who are from the most under privileged groups in society and who cannot afford legal representation.
The Public Defender’s Office revolutionised the field of representation in criminal law. Prior to the Office’s establishment the majority of detainees and defendants were tried without legal representation. They were unfamiliar with the proceedings, had difficulty understanding legal jargon, and could not express themselves properly before the judge. Today the vast majority of detainees have legal representation.
The Public Defender’s Office was Professor Mann’s initiative. He helped to establish and run the Office during its early stages of operation. He is also responsible for many of the Office’s achievements in the form of precedents in the field of defendants’ rights. In 1999, he had the idea of going to court as a ‘friend of the court’ (Amicus Curiae), which has since become an integral aspect of Israeli law. Professor Mann initiated the criticism of the condition of detainees and prisoners in Israel and the Public Defender’s Office now publishes a report on correctional facilities every year. Professor Mann has been involved in ACRI and currently serves as Chairman of Gisha’s board of directors.
The Committee noted that “Professor Mann was one of the first initiators of the Public Defender’s Office and his belief that in order for the legal process to be just, proper and fair, all people must have adequate and professional legal representation, has come to fruition. The Committee awards this prize to the Public Defender’s Office on their 20th anniversary in recognition of their work in to protect individual rights in criminal proceedings and their legal achievements that have changed the nature of criminal justice and cemented human rights in criminal proceedings.”
The Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award 2014-2015 has been awarded annually since 1981, and was named after Grunzweig following his assassination in 1982. The members of the Human Rights Award Committee are: Professor Yitzhak Benbaji, Professor’ Ruth Halperin-Kaddari and Professor Michael Karayanni .The prize giving ceremony will be held in April.
