Director

Professor Carmit Katz is a social worker and full professor at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her work specializes in addressing child abuse and neglect, believing that protecting children from harm is a fundamental moral duty.

Professor Katz promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and places a strong emphasis on engaging directly with children in all aspects of their lives—a principle that underpins her professional ethos. She is involved in both national and international efforts to advance policy and practice that uphold and support children’s rights to live a life free of violence.

Professor Katz serves as a senior advisor to the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and is the Founder and Director of The Israeli Independent Public Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. She is also the founder and director of the International Consortium of Professionals Protecting Children from Maltreatment during COVID-19, which was recognized by ISPCAN as a leading consortium for promoting children’s rights during a global pandemic.

In addition, Professor Katz is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice and an Associate Editor of the journal Child Abuse & Neglect.

Following the October 7, 2023, massacre and the outbreak of the “Iron Swords” war, Professor Katz spearheaded a collaborative initiative with Israel’s Ministry of Welfare to develop and publish a series of groundbreaking intervention protocols for children directly impacted by the war. These protocols provide specialized guidance for supporting children who have been orphaned, exposed to extreme violence, or returned from captivity in the context of war and terrorism.  She is also currently co-leading the national psychosocial support system for children who returned from captivity, in collaboration with the Ministry of Welfare.