Intimate Partner Violence in an Orthodox Jewish Community: Survivor and Other Stakeholders' Perspectives

Background/Purpose: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an insidious public health problem that has deleterious implications at the individual and family, community, and societal levels. Defined as a systematic, repetitive pattern of manipulative behavior used to gain and maintain power and control over a current or former partner/spouse, DV includes physical, sexual, psychological and/or financial abuse. According to the Jewish Coalition against Domestic Abuse, IPV in Jewish families occurs at the same rate as in the general population (15 to 25 percent) among all socioeconomic levels and denominations. Despite the high prevalence of IPV among Jewish communities, it remains hidden, shrouded by secrecy, denial, and stigma, especially among traditional denominations (i.e., Orthodox). This study seeks to understand this public health concern locally, identifying the needs and priorities for the Orthodox Jewish community around IPV in a medium sized Midwestern city.

Methods: Twelve Orthodox Jewish stakeholders, comprised of rabbis, Rebbetzins, and community members (including survivors) were recruited to participate within in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Participants were mostly female (67%), with ages ranging from 27 to 64 years old. All participants were born in the U.S. and all had at least some form of college education. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Dedoose, a cross-platform software commonly used for qualitative and mixed-methods research. Data were analyzed through a mixed content analysis approach; this strategy is a mixture of coding down (deductive) and coding up (inductive). The researcher then reviewed the content from each code and identified themes across interviews. Quotes were extracted from codes for each theme and then re-evaluated to ensure they captured the meaning of themes.

Results: The stakeholder interviews revealed five themes: (1) perceptions of IPV in the Orthodox community; (2) Orthodox Gender Norms and Socialization: Risk or Protective Factor? (3) Stakeholders’ Awareness of IPV Services in the Community; (4) Barriers to help-seeking; (5) Salience of Rabbis and Rebbetzins.

Implications: Recommendations for culturally congruent programs and practices are discussed. It is imperative that concerted efforts be made to work collaboratively in these endeavors with Rabbis and Rebbetzins given their salience to the Orthodox community. The guidance of Rabbis and Rebbetzins will help ensure that initiatives and programming created for the Orthodox community are in accordance with the teachings of the Torah.