Bank Availability Convention, a treaty formulated to help reduce violence against women

“Banking Availability” is a voluntary treaty formulated by the Banking Supervision Department together with the Association of Banks and the Banking System and social organizations, and its purpose is to support the reduction of economic violence against women victims of violence who are staying in shelters and transitional apartments.

By providing appropriate banking services to victims, they will be able to pave their way to financial independence more easily.

Established in 2016, 540 women suffering from economic violence received assistance. The present Convention is now expanded to include the following:

1. Creating a “Financial Evaluation and Utilization of Rights” Process

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   As part of the initial absorption process that takes place when a new woman arrives at the shelter, the woman will also undergo a mapping that includes a series of guiding questions designed to help clarify focused and relevant details about the woman’s financial situation and the rights she is entitled to so that she can receive the response as quickly and tailored as possible to her needs.

2. Extending the time for applying the Convention – Most of the activity under the Convention will take place during the women’s stay in shelters, but due to the importance of creating continuity in the process of achieving financial independence, upon the exit of the women from the shelter, the financial institutions will continue to support them through the Convention for an additional year, after the woman leaves the shelter, or for six months after the woman leaves the transitional apartment. This expansion is the brainchild of the “Women’s Spirit” association, which assists women in the stage of their exit from the shelter.
3. “Bank Adopts Shelter”

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   In order to increase financial awareness, both of the women victims of violence staying in shelters and transitional apartments and of the staff members in shelters, the banks and credit card companies have decided to undertake, within the framework of this convention, to assist in the field of financial knowledge in shelters. Within this framework, a lecture on various financial topics will be held, once for a period to be determined between the shelter and the financial institution.

To the presentation presented by Odda Peretz, Deputy Supervisor of Banks

To the Convention “Bank Availability”