Director

her research and professional work and expresses her commitment to promoting policy changes in local and international arenas, striving to ensure the right of children to grow up in a safe, protected world, without violence.

Prof. Katz is a senior advisor to the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and founder of the Public Committee for Policy Change on Child Sexual Abuse. She also founded and led an international group for the protection of children during global crises (International Group of Scholars Protecting Children from Maltreatment During COVID-19), which was recognized by ISPCAN for its extraordinary contribution to promoting the safety of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to her extensive research activity, she is the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Child Maltreatment and an associate editor of the journal Child Abuse and Neglect.

During the Swords of Iron war, which began with the massacre of October 7, 2023, Prof. Katz initiated and led together with the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, the development and writing of a series of innovative and groundbreaking intervention guidelines for the treatment of children directly affected by the war. Among these guidelines: a guideline for accompanying children who have been orphaned by both parents, a guideline for intervention for children exposed to severe violence and massacres, and a guideline for receiving kidnapped children. As part of her commitment to the subject of children who have returned from Hamas captivity, Prof. Katz led the publication of articles in leading international journals, out of a belief that validation and visibility are the most important areas of action in the world of trauma.