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to Jewish Family Service for
help due to the fact that, God
forbid, I would know some-
one there,” she says, fighting
back tears.
"That's home. That's me.
That's where I'm from. It just
doesn't happen in Jewish
families."
But national statistics
show that domestic abuse
cuts across the board. In the
United States, a woman is
beaten by her husband or
boyfriend every 15 seconds.
Contrary to stereotypes of
shalom bayit
the peaceful
household — Jewish women
are not immune to domestic
abuse.
Social workers define do-
mestic abuse as the system-

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atic and repeated use of
threats, intimidation and/or
force used to control and
maintain power over family
members or partners.
In the Jewish community,
agencies and individuals are
responding to the needs of
people like Rachel. The Jew-
ish Family Service runs a
program called Windows,
which not only deals with
spousal abuse but counsels
victims of child abuse, incest
and sexual assault. JFS
works with 62 families in
Windows. About 85 percent
of its clientele is Jewish.
The agency also has joined
forces with the National
Council of Jewish Women
(NCJW) to provide battered

women with a one-family
apartment, with kosher fa-
cilities, where they can seek
shelter.
Secular agencies, like the
HAVEN, a battered women's
shelter in Pontiac, have re-
sponded to the need as well.
Director Hedy Nuriel says
that the shelter accommo-
dates Jewish women, who
typically comprise 10 percent
of HAVEN's therapy groups.
But several local rabbis
say that congregants rarely
confide in them about issues
of abuse in their family.
Some rabbis who have
served in Detroit for more
than 20 years have never en-
countered a domestic vio-
lence case. This isn't, they

STORY BY RUTH LITTMANN

ILLUSTRATION BY BOB LYNCH

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