Domestic
Violence and the Jewish Woman
Ellen R.
DeVoe, Ph.D.
Domestic
Violence and the Jewish Woman is designed to examine
the correlations among religious identifications, beliefs, and traditions and
responses to domestic violence by several distinct populations of Jewish women
who have sought help for domestic violence.
Violence against women by their intimate partners is
a leading cause of injury and death. In a national study, 28% of married
couples reported at least one episode of physical violence over the course of
their relationship (Straus & Gelles, 1986). While
it is estimated that 10% to 14% of all married women have been raped by their
husband, the proportion of battered women who have experienced marital rape
rises to 33-50% (Finklhor & Yllo,
1987; Russel, 1983). One third of all female
homicides are killed by their husbands or boyfriends (U.S. Dept. of Justice,
1992).
Despite the severity of partner violence across all
ethnic groups and classes, the manner in which religious and cultural
traditions and biases influence women's experience of domestic violence has not
been studied systematically. Cultural
background influences how women define physical, emotional, sexual, and
economic abuse, how they react to abuse, why they stay in abusive
relationships, and what systems of support are helpful to cope with domestic
violence (McGee 1997; Fischbach & Herbert, 1997).
An understanding of these cultural influences is critical to providing
intervention at any level.
Extensive evidence suggests that the incidence and
prevalence of domestic violence in the Jewish community is similar to the rate
in other communities (Spiegel, 1997). An estimate by the organization Jewish
Women International indicates that 15 to 25% of all Jewish households
experience domestic violence. This
rate is the same among Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews (Giller & Goldsmith, 1980). Even families who
have looser ties to the Jewish community are often influenced by Jewish
cultural background (Schlossberger & Hecker, 1998). The community’s concern about domestic
violence is demonstrated by extensive coverage of the problem in both popular
and academic literature, organizational responses, (e.g., Jewish Women
International Organization), and web pages (e.g., The Jewish Domestic Abuse
and Agunah
Problem (http://members.aol.com/Agunah/).
Despite the statistics and the acknowledgment that culturally specific
education and intervention programs for domestic violence are more successful
than generic programs, the special issues of Jewish women have not been
comprehensively studied.
Front line domestic violence practitioners need
specific knowledge to identify and screen battered women (Harwell, 1998), but
little is known about practitioners’ level of awareness regarding client
cultural values and religious beliefs (Fischbach
& Herbert, 1997; McGee, 1997; Schlossberger &
Hecker, 1998). The knowledge base of practitioners’
perceptions of barriers to providing services to Jewish women survivors is
limited. At all levels of service, training priorities need to be identified
(Short, Johnson, & Osattin, 1998) in order to
understand how practitioners might be better supported in serving Jewish women
who have experienced domestic violence.
The hypotheses being considered in this study are:
(1) Jewish women will have special issues relating to the Jewish tradition and
cultural biases that influence their beliefs concerning domestic violence; (2)
their traditions and cultural biases will influence Jewish women's responses to
domestic violence; and (3) the presence or absence of social and family support
systems will influence Jewish women's responses to domestic violence.
The study involves two components: (1) focus groups for
Jewish women who have experienced partner abuse and for 10 UJA-Federation
agency-affiliated clinicians who work with Jewish battered
women, and (2) individual in-depth interviews with the women. Thirty-six
Jewish women who have experienced domestic violence or partner abuse will
comprise the primary sample. Three unique sub-groups of women (12 each) will be
targeted for the study: secular or Reform Jewish women; Orthodox Jewish women;
and Jewish women from the Russian immigrant community. The subjects will be
recruited through several agencies serving battered women. These agencies will
be affiliated with UJA, JBFCS, and FEGS and will be identified and contacted by
UJA.
Focus groups will be held in community agencies
where the women have sought services. Each focus group will be audiotaped, with subjects’ informed consent, for later
transcription and review. The focus groups are designed to increase
understanding of the unique issues facing three subgroups of Jewish battered
women. Topics addressed will include: religious and cultural aspects of women’s
experiences, beliefs, and definitions of partner violence; religious and
cultural influences on women’s decisions about their relationships; family and
personal considerations in women’s decision-making about their relationships;
women’s help-seeking and experiences of support within informal networks; and
Jewish battered women’s perceptions of effective strategies for the provision
of support and assistance within their families and communities.
A semi-structured interview protocol, reflecting
critical dimensions of the experience of partner violence, and the interplay
among religious and cultural issues and partner violence will be administered
to the 36 women who participated in focus groups. Audiotapes of the focus groups will be
transcribed and a qualitative analysis of the transcripts and the moderators'
notes on individual sessions will be conducted.
At the conclusion of the study, the investigators
will produce a research report of the findings and a proposal for external
funding for a more rigorous study. The heterogeneity of experiences among
participants will lead to some difficulty in controlling for other
factors. It is anticipated that women
from different subcultures (Reform, Orthodox, Hassidic, émigrés, etc.) will be
influenced in different ways by the Jewish tradition and cultural biases. This
pilot study will be unable to address these differences. Using the data collected in this pilot study
to identify issues of central concern, a proposal for a larger study will be
designed to identify the different responses of women coming from different
subcultures of the Jewish tradition. The
data collected in this larger study could contribute significantly to the
development of culturally specific domestic violence programs targeting
education, prevention, and interventions.
The study's principal investigator is Ellen R.
DeVoe, Ph.D. Co-investigators are Kathryn Conroy, D.S.W. and
The funding for the study
was raised by UJA.
References
Finkelhor, D., & Yllo,
K. (1985).
License to rape: Sexual abuse of wives.
Fischbach, R. L., & Herbert, B. (1997). Domestic violence and mental health:
correlates and conundrums within and across cultures. Social Science and Medicine, (45)8, 1161-1176.
Giller, B., & Goldsmith, E. (1980). All in the Family: A study of intra-familial violence in the
McGee, M. P. (1997). Cultural values and domestic violence. Journal of Family Social Work, 2(2), 129-140.
Russell, D. E. H. (1990). Rape in marriage (2nd ed.).
Schlossberger,
E. S., & Hecker, L. L. (1998). Reflections of Jewishness and its implications for family therapy. American Journal of Family Therapy, 26(2), 129-146.
Short, L.
M., Johnson, D., & Osattin, A. (1998). Recommended
components of health care provider training programs on intimate partner
violence. American Journal of
Preventative Medicine, (14)4, 283-288.
Spiegel,
M. C. (1999). Unpublished
bibliography.
Straus, M.
A., & Gelles, R. J. (1986). Societal change and change
in family violence from 1975 to1985 as revealed by two national surveys. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48(August),
465-479.
Walker, L. E. (1979). The battered woman.