!FAMILY LIFE

A

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Hours:
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Saturday
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Sunday
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FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME.

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2007 ORCHARD LAKE RD.
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{S)7:4

54

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Recent efforts to develop special help lines for battered women and their
children in the Jewish community are a recognition that the problem is a
serious one, according to an issue of "Women's World,"

Family Violence More
Common Than Thought

Domestic violence occurs in
15 to 19 percent of Jewish
homes, reports a story in the
latest issue of Women's
World, the national publica-
tion of B'nai B'rith Women.
For years, the Jewish com-
munity kept silent about fam-
ily violence, perpetuating the
myth that a Jewish husband
would never harm his wife. If
a battered Jewish woman
dared to confide in someone,
her story was usually met
with disbelief.
Even rabbis, doctors and
lawyers preferred to hide
behind the reassuring stance
that "it doesn't happen in
Jewish families." The denial
intensified the feelings of
guilt, shame and helplessness
of the victim and kept her
from leaving the abusive rela-
tionship. This conspiracy of
silence kept battered Jewish
women isolated for years.
But lately, the almost dai-
ly assault of grim headlines
forced us to listen. The story
of Elizabeth Steinberg, a 6-
year-old Manhattan girl who
was allegedly beaten to death
by her adoptive parents, both
Jewish, professional and af-
fluent. The stories disclosing
that the mother, too, had been
a frequent victim of the
father's abuse, sent shock
waves throughout the Jewish
community. Convinced final-
ly that nobody is immune to
domestic violence, several
Jewish communities have be-
gun mobilizing to identify
and help the victims of abuse.
The Women's World article,
"Breaking the Silence:
Reaching Out to Battered
Jewish Women," explores the
most recent efforts to create
and develop special help lines
for battered women and their
children within the Jewish
community.
By offering a temporary

shelter equipped with a ko-
sher kitchen, the Transition
Center in New York City
became the first program to
offer observant Jewish wo-
men a way to leave a batter-
ing relationship without corn-
promising their religious
beliefs.
Similar shelters for Jewish
women have since opened in
Chicago, Los Angeles, and
lbronto. Many of these in-
novative programs also offer
counseling and legal aid to
the victims of abuse, as well
as outreach and education to
rabbis and other community
leaders.
The Family Violence Pro-
ject in Los Angeles is the
most comprehensive inter-
vention and prevention pro-
gram to be sponsored by a
Jewish Family Service agen-
cy in the United States. With
staff devoted solely to family
violence cases, offering
therapy groups for both the
victims and the abusers, the
program has helped over 500
families since it opened its
doors in 1983.
Caring private individuals
and Jewish women's organi-
zations have also offered help
to victims of abuse. B'nai
B'rith Women of Canada has
launched an intensive cam-
paign against domestic
violence which culminuated
with the opening last June of
the first Toronto apartment
for abused Jewish women.
B'nai B'rith Women has
compiled a Family Violence
Resource List, which includes
shelters and special services
for Jewish victims of domes-
tic violence as well as a list of
publications on the subject.
lb obtain a copy of the list
write to: Women's World,
B'nai B'rith Women, 1640
Rhode Island Avenue, NW,
Washington, D.C. 20036.

