;•

daughter's room while she is
bathing or dressing," says
Beck. "He says he had no
idea, but he never knocks on
her door and always seems to
pick just the right time. Other
behaviors that patients
describe are fathers touching
their daughters under the
guise of tickling, affectionate
patting, encouraging her to
sit on his lap after a certain
age and even giving her
seductive looks!'
A recent three-year, federal-
ly financed study by the
University of New Hampshire
Family Research Laboratory,
reports that an estimated 8.9
of every 10,000 children
under the age of 6 are abus-
ed at home. Moreover, 85 per-
cent of the sexual abuse cases
take place with a person the
child knows — a relative,
friend, neighbor — and occur
often, over a period of time,
either subtly or with extreme
physical force.
According to Melvin Kauf-
man of the Michigan Depart-
ment of Social Services, abuse
referrals and substantiations
in Oakland County were
down the first two months of
this year and then referrals
increased substantially in
_ March. Kaurman says that
stresses vary within a com-
munity. Closing an
automotive plant, for exam-
ple, will start the cycle mov-
ing up again.
Carmine Devivo, deputy ex-
ecutive director of Orchards
Children's Services, says that
the residential care program
usually averages one Jewish
child out of 24. Devivo finds
that Jewish families bond
tightly together to find their
own resources for help and
that the approach can work
beause so often it's a problem
of emotional abuse.
He tells the story of a boy
who was adopted by a Jewish
family because the parents
couldn't have children. Two
years later a child was born
and the parents devoted most
of their time to the natural
child. When the adopted son
reached age 12, he began to
challenge his parents, whose
marriage by then was a bit
shaky. The parents decided
to place the boy at the Or-
chards residential care pro-
gram because they were
afraid they would physically
abuse him since the only way
they could control him was
through physical discipline.
The boy stayed with Orchards
for two years.
"It's costly to undo a whole
lifetime of neglect for an
adult," says Susan Citrin,
president of Jewish Family
Services. "But the costs are
well worth it if the program
can save two lives — the adult

and the child — by providing
all the services that are
desperately needed. I expect
this program to be a
model!' ■

Finding Method

Continued from Page 25

children and three social
workers within three years,"
says Marilyn Hertzberg,
clinical coordinator for the
project. "It was actually the
forefunner for the child abuse
program.
"The potential for child
abuse among these women
was obvious. For example, we
served a snack, like milk and
cookies, each session, and
many of the mothers would
grab what they wanted, com-
peting among themselves and
even with their own children.
Few considered their child's
needs.
"These women needed to
have role models, to be taught
how to care for themselves
and how to care for their
children!"

Biblical
Wisdom

In rabbinic literature
there is a clear distinction
between appropriate
discipline and excessive
punishment.
"If you must strike a
child, strike it with the
string of a shoe; in other
words, a light stroke which
can do no harm!"
—Rashi
"A man is forbidden to
place a burdensome yoke
upon his children, so that
they will stumble into sin.
You must forgive your
children!"
— Shulchan Aruch

Needs medical care
Has poor impulse control
and fears losing control
Reacts inappropriately to a
child's needs
Has a history of family
violence and may have
been abused themselves
as children

NEWS 1•"""mm

Zeffirelli Denies
Anti-Semitic
Comment

Rome (JTA) — Italian direc-
tor Franco Zeffirelli denied
using the term "Jewish
cultural scum" to describe the
producers of Martin
Scorsese's film The Last
Thmptation of Christ, but
reiterated his criticism of Lew
Wasserman, chairman of
MCA, the entertainment con-
glomerate whose Universal
Pictures subsidiary is produc-
ing the film.
"I could never use the term
"Jewish scum,"" Zeffirelli told
the Italian press. "I have
always been a friend of the
Jews. When I made (the tele-
vision movie) Jesus of
Nazareth, I requested the
presence and counsel of three
rabbis," Zeffirelli said.
The Italian press quoted
Zeffirelli as saying tempta-
tion is the work of "that
Jewish cultural scum in Los
Angeles" who wanted to
strike a blow at the Christian
world.
The remark was attributed
to Zeffirelli in circumstances
surrounding a statement he
issued last week to the Italian
press announcing the with-
drawal of his current film
from the Venice Film Festi-
val. Zeffirelli pulled his film
in protest of the inclusion of
Scorcese's work.

Signs Of
Child Abuse

Mazon Grants
Reach $255,000

The abused child
Repeated unexplained
injuries
Neglected appearance:
malnourished, inade-
quately clothed
Disruptive behavior
Passive, withdrawn, shy
Lacks supervision
Speech disorders and lags
in development
Takes on the role of the
parent and tries to be
protective of the parent
In sexual abuse shows poor
peer relationships and
discomfort with their
bodies

New York (JTA) — Mazon, a
Jewish response to hunger,
allocated grants totaling
$255,000 to 33 Jewish, non-
Jewish and interfaith groups
in the United States and
other countries working to
aid the poor, sick and
homeless.
Mazon — the Hebrew word
for food — also began a cam-
paign in 1986 asking
American Jews to pay a self-
imposed "tax" on the cost of
weddings, b'nai mitzvah, an-
niversaries and other celebra-
tions, as a way to give added
joy to the event.
During its first year, Mazon
raised $163,000, and in its se-
cond year donations rose to
$550,000.

The abusive parent
Super critical
Extremely isolated

''vngf,WTA,N,T

